Running back Shaun Alexander redshirted during his first season at Alabama. He went on to break the Crimson Tide record for career rushing yards.
In his first NFL season, Alexander backed up Ricky Watters and had 64 rushing attempts for the Seattle Seahawks. He went on break the franchise record for career rushing yards.
Twenty-five years after the Seahawks picked Alexander at No. 19 in the 2000 NFL Draft, Seattle used the No. 92 selection on Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe on April 25. While Alexander has experienced first-hand the value that waiting to play can have sometimes, he hopes his old NFL team won’t sit Milroe simply because he’s a rookie and Sam Darnold is a high-dollar free agent.
“I think that you just let him grow,” Alexander said of Milroe during an appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Up and Adams” this week. “I’m one of those guys that college, I was redshirted. Get to the pros, I sit behind Ricky Watters for a year. Year 2 -- boom. But also know that if he has the discipline to be the quarterback -- and we know he has the talent -- and if he can catch on fast enough, you don’t let superstars sit too long because they learn not to be the superstars.
“And so we have a fine quarterback we just brought in in Sam Donald. But we’ve seen this before. We did it with a kid from Green Bay that came in, and we drafted Russell Wilson. And so I’m cool. I’m pro-Seattle all the way. So I think if Sam comes out and balls, then we’re great. If Jalen looks like he’s taken the nod, we don’t have to hesitate on that either. Let’s go win. We got a great defense, and it’s going to be even better this year. So do what it takes to get in the playoffs, and I believe we were the only (NFC) team with a winning record not to get into the playoffs last year. So we’ll just take another step forward and we’ll be that squad this year.”
Wilson joined the Seahawks as a third-round selection in 2012 after Seattle signed Matt Flynn as a free agent. Wilson worked as the Seahawks starting quarterback for the next 10 seasons, during which he made the Pro Bowl nine times and Seattle won at least 10 games eight times.
Seattle chose Milroe after he completed 392-of-603 passes for 5,678 yards with 39 touchdowns and 17 interceptions and ran for 1,257 yards and 32 touchdowns on 329 carries in his two seasons as Alabama’s starting QB.
“He’s got amazing talent,” Alexander said, “and we saw with Russell before, you know, rookie, he just come in, just be yourself, use your talent and he ends up winning. So we don’t know if Jalen’s going to win, but I just don’t count people out that’s got his character and his look at ball. Like, he knows the game itself, but then he has all these extra tools that could make him really be something special.”
As a Seahawks icon who won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 2005, Alexander announced Seattle’s second-day picks at the 2025 NFL Draft. He called Milroe’s name in the third round.
“It’s really cool because you get the pick like 30 seconds before you go on stage,” Alexander said. “And so then you’ve got the long walk, and I’m looking and I’m like, ‘Am I about to call Jalen’s name out? Like I remember when he got to Bama, you know?’ And so I’m super excited for him.
“I saw him the first day (of the 2025 draft). He was there to support some of the other teammates and then he flew home. And so I’m over here: ‘Keep your head up. You’re about to go to a place. You’re going to be in the show when you get there. You’re going to love it. Just be you when you get there. You’ve got the key.’ And literally I’m about to call him on the stage, so it was great. We got to talk on the phone afterwards. It was just a fun time all the way around.”
The Seahawks start the final phase of their offseason program on Tuesday. During OTAs, 11-on-11 drills are allowed, although the offseason prohibition against contact workouts remains in the place.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.