The fans were thrilled to greet Jalen Milroe as he came off the field after Alabama football’s 49-21 win over Kentucky Saturday. By the end of the game, the half of Kroger Field behind Kentucky’s bench was nearly empty, just thousands of empty light blue bleacher-back spots.

But on the Crimson Tide’s side, it was a party. The quarterback jogged onto the field as time expired, pausing to take a photo with Kentucky defensive back Zion Childress, another Houston-area product, did an ESPN interview and headed toward the tunnel.

He high-fived the Alabama fans, who had just finished a road Rammer Jammer, basked briefly in the adoration of the Crimson Tide faithful. The Crimson clad revelers, who had been asking for photos with Milroe’s father as time wound down, gave a big cheer as the QB disappeared to the locker.

“Jalen played really well,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “I thought the offense started the game out, set the tempo of the game extremely well. He played extremely well.”

The fan love seen in Lexington wasn’t there early in the season. Milroe’s struggles against Texas and benching against South Florida have been well-documented.

But lately, the Heisman Trophy whispers have started. Milroe has been the star of the show against LSU and Kentucky, collecting 10 total touchdowns between those games.

Saban was happy with the effort, as were Milroe’s Crimson Tide teammates. The fans were cheering for him and the win, which clinched the SEC West for Alabama.

The only one not pleased was the redshirt sophomore himself.

“I’m real frustrated,” he claimed after the game. “I got a lot of things I gotta fix and get better at.”

Milroe went for 234 yards passing with three touchdowns and an interception in the game. He added 36 more on the ground, including another three scores.

And he did most of it after being injured. In the first quarter, Milroe went down after a 16-yard run and had to be stretched out on the field by Alabama’s training staff.

Ty Simpson came in for one play, then Milroe returned. But between Alabama drives, he headed to the sideline for treatment and a ride on the exercise bike behind the bench.

“Trying to play for my teammates,” Milroe said. “A lot of game left, so you’re trying to get back on the field as fast as possible.”

Milroe has emerged as a leader for Alabama. Even before the USF game, where he was benched, he was the quarterback breaking down the position group’s huddle in the tunnel before pregame warmups.

Seeing their quarterback at less than 100% got the Crimson Tide going.

“We gotta step up our game,” running back Jam Miller said. “We gotta protect him 24/7. The run and the pass game, we made it a pass game, but knowing that he was banged up, we had to work extra hard to protect him.”

Milroe and Saban have publicly agreed on the reason for his improvement. Both of them point to experience, learning from his mistakes in-season, and correcting the underlying problems.

His best two games of the year have been LSU and Kentucky, both of which came after the Crimson Tide’s bye week. On Saturday, Saban was asked if the week off could have had something to do with it.

“I don’t know if he took some Geritol or what,” Saban joked. “That’s my medicine.”

The coach went on to describe how Milroe has improved in recent weeks.

“I think his confidence is growing and I think that the confidence of the players around him is growing,” Saban said. “And our production and performance has sort of mirrored that confidence.”

Alabama will be back in action next Saturday against Chattanooga at Bryant-Denny Stadium.