He put on the helmet of his childhood team and thought “screw everything else.”

A nervous hum buzzed through Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama football trailed Ole Miss by 14, and surprise backup quarterback Jake Coker got the call to get ready. He wouldn’t worry about turnovers or his rocky start in Tuscaloosa. Coker had been trying to keep to himself. In front of over 100,000 spectators, he embraced the intensity that September night.

“I showed a lot of emotion and I think (Saban) liked that,” Coker said, “and I think (Saban) thought the team responded pretty well when I came in.

“I think (the competition) caused me to over-think a few things and probably not play as fast as I should have until I was named the starter and I knew I wasn’t going to get pulled out any point in the game and that it was mine.”

Coker let it rip for 200 yards and three touchdowns. There were two interceptions, but the Tide found its guy. The parallels run deep to Alabama’s current quarterback room, which finally gained resolution on Monday. Nearly eight years to the day of Coker’s pseudo-coronation, Saban announced Jalen Milroe had “earned” the right to start.

While the 2023 reboot changed minor details — there were three contenders; UA lost Coker’s coming out party; this time, Saban made his decision before conference play — a Week 3 contest ended the competition all the same. No. 13 Alabama is hoping Milroe’s path from challenge to demotion to elevation can spark a team with question marks beyond the re-named QB1. And fans are hoping Milroe is able to follow Coker’s original ending.

Saban referenced 2015′s early struggles and eventual turnaround to a national championship last week. That was before the Tide trotted two other quarterbacks against South Florida resulting in one of its worst passing performances in recent memory. It’s fitting that the spotlight settles on Milroe’s No. 4 jersey this weekend against the Rebels, now led by Coker’s offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin and Milroe’s former defensive coordinator Pete Golding.

“I know a lot of guys (after being benched), at a lot of different levels, but especially as the starting quarterback at Alabama, once you lose that job, it does something to your confidence and your morale. (Milroe) took it on the chin. He knew what he had to do to be better, and he never brought negative energy, on or off the field,” offensive tackle JC Latham said. “He’s held himself accountable. He’s held all of us accountable. He did what he had to do. It was a great example of what a leader is and what a leader needs to do through adversity.”

When Saban named Milroe the starter before Sept. 2 against Middle Tennessee State, he told Milroe he wanted the third-year player from Katy, Texas, to play well enough so his backups, Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson, could get snaps. On his weekly radio show, Saban called it “important.” Now, the directive has changed.

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With Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes down to winning the SEC West and conference title, Milroe has to keep generating big plays (11 completions and two runs over 15 yards) and demonstrate enough consistency on short throws to prevent crucial turnovers.

Through 2009-22, Alabama quarterbacks threw 5,241 passes (UA game notes). One in every 63.9 was an interception. Milroe is averaging an interception every 21 attempts (five in 105), with two lost fumbles.

Vince Young, one of Milroe’s favorite players, watched from the sidelines when UA hosted Texas on Sept. 9. Milroe delivered the gamut. He ripped 20 yards on a designed draw, scrambled on 11-yard plays, and forced two interceptions on questionable decisions.

Milroe kept working the sideline, telling Alabama players they’d keep making explosive plays. Latham said Milroe told everyone to keep their heads up. Then, after the 34-24 loss, Milroe owned the blame when speaking to reporters.

In Coker’s case, he knew it’d be impossible to limit the outside noise. But he’d have to try. After Coker won the starting battle, he tightened his circle and purchased a new phone. Coker kept his focus on a few people around him, his teammates and his playbook. The goal was more isolation, little outside interaction. He’d talk to his friends “every now and then.”

“That’s when I was able to really start playing,” said Coker. ” … Just think about winning a game rather than, ‘OK, let’s make not mistakes and let’s make sure I prove that I can manage this team and not turn the ball over.’”

Milroe has to possess the same buy-in, and the Tide’s veterans say he has. Despite knowing he wouldn’t play, Milroe guided Alabama with a pre-game speech before jogging out of the tunnel in Raymond James Stadium. He stayed active on the bench and when Ty Simpson led the game-winning touchdown drive, Milroe met him on the field for a handshake.

Saban noted he was pleased with Milroe’s mindset in Tampa and called it a learning experience. While Milroe’s performance last week of practice wasn’t on par with Tyler Buchner or Ty Simpson, according to Saban’s measure of who gets to play on Saturdays, the leadership remained. Now, Milroe gets to LANK’em — as he and close friend Terrion Arnold have coined Let a Naysayer Know.

“Jalen is a better teammate and an even better man,” Arnold said after USF. “So I would say for him, with all the people kind of criticizing him, trying to say what they want about him, trying to portray him to have this certain image, he’s nothing really but a great guy, great teammate. … Most people don’t realize how humble he is.”

Outside Alabama’s locker room on Sept. 16, after the Tide managed a two-touchdown win, Milroe celebrated with a mac and cheese cup in one hand, smoothie in the other. He hugged his dad, Quentin Milroe, before shuffling onto the team bus.

The pressure, the expectation, the opportunity. All of it soon to be his. Again.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].