Former Bama QB Brodie Croyle praises Milroe, Tide teamâs character overcoming adversity

Former Crimson Tide quarterback Brodie Croyle knows about adversity and appreciates the character of those who overcome it, as seen in the Tide’s current starting quarterback, Jalen Milroe and exhibited by the 2023 team led by Coach Nick Saban.

“From a fellow quarterback that’s just watched in admiration from afar, I couldn’t be more proud of him, couldn’t be more proud of this team, and consistently stand in awe of what Coach Saban and his staff continue to do – it’s incredible what they do,” Croyle said.

During his college career with Alabama and NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs, Croyle endured 11 surgeries, a torn ACL, 3 broken vertebrae and a punctured lung.

Croyle, now president and CEO of Big Oak Ranch, was in Birmingham on Tuesday to check on construction for new homes for Big Oak college-age residents.

But he also talked a little Alabama football, which runs deep in the family. His dad, John Croyle, played for Paul “Bear” Bryant as an All-American defensive end, before founding Big Oak Ranch, which he has turned over to Brodie to run.

“I love this Alabama team,” Croyle said. “This Alabama team knows how to play when it matters the most. You don’t have to be good all the time, you have to be great when it’s time. They know how to be great when it’s time.”

Milroe lost his starting position after early season struggles, but rebounded and led his team to the SEC Championship with a resounding win over the two-time defending National Champion Georgia Bulldogs.

“What a game,” Croyle said.

“I couldn’t be more proud of Milroe,” Croyle said. “The way that he bounced back, the way that he overcame adversity and the way that he just put his head down and earned the respect of his teammates, his coaches. It’s something a lot of people should take hold of and watch and go, ‘That’s how you do it.’ Because the easy thing to do is when you get benched, go, ‘Hey, I got dealt a bad hand, I got the shaft.’ Instead, he went, ‘I’m going to get another shot. When I do, I’m going to make sure I make the most of it.’

Croyle teaches a Bible study for Big Oak residents called “How to Fail Falling Forward,” in which he teaches keeping the right perspective on failure and struggle.

“Is it life or death? No,” he said. “Is it something that hurts in the moment? Yeah. Is it something you can overcome? One thousand percent.”

There are bigger struggles than football in life, he said.

“For me, it came from seeing a lifetime of children that were dropped at our doorsteps,” at Big Oak Ranch, said Croyle, who grew up at the ranch and attended the Big Oak-affiliated Westbrook Christian School in Rainbow City with many children who had been abandoned by their families.

Big Oak Ranch houses a lot of University of Alabama football fever and fans who will be rooting for the Tide as it faces Michigan in the Rose Bowl in the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff, Croyle said. As always, Big Oak and the Crimson Tide are intertwined.

Many donors who support Big Oak today still say they were referred to supporting the ministry by Coach Bryant, Croyle said.

“Coach Bryant worked in the shadows for Big Oak in the beginning,” Croyle said. “The ties to the University of Alabama and the platform it has given us has obviously been something that’s been advantageous.”