As the storied Iron Bowl rivalry between Alabama and Auburn looms, Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe is brushing off bold remarks from Auburn linebacker Demarcus Riddick, maintaining his focus on preparation for Saturday’s showdown.
Riddick sparked a fiery exchange earlier this week with pointed criticism of Alabama’s players.
On Monday, Riddick dismissed the hype around Alabama freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams, claiming, “In my eyes, he ain’t really nobody to me. Ryan Williams is himself. He ain’t no big-time player to me.”
Riddick also admitted that Alabama’s blowout loss to Oklahoma was a real eye-opener for the Tigers.
He said the Tide’s poor performance gives Auburn extra confidence that they can pull off the upset on Saturday.
“I would say seeing the results after that game, it was kind of like: ‘This team is really beatable.’ And I was just telling the team, ‘Y’all don’t really take this team as this or that,” he said.
“They’re really beatable. We’ve got something to fight for.’ Going into this game I’m just going to be balls to the wall, every time.”
The linebacker didn’t stop there as he critiqued Milroe’s skill set and inconsistent season.
“He is a good quarterback. He’s fast,” Riddick said. “But, I mean, he’s not faster than me. He will not get out of that box this week.”
Milroe, however, seemed unfazed when asked about Riddick’s comments during a recent press conference.
“I don’t know who that is,” Milroe said. “I mean, let him talk. It’s a part of it. It’s all about executing what we need to do so we can be at our best this weekend. But, yeah, good on him.”
The Crimson Tide will enter Saturday’s matchup with a four-game winning streak against the Tigers in the Iron Bowl.
Despite their recent loss to Oklahoma, Alabama remains determined to maintain its dominance in the heated rivalry.
Riddick’s remarks have added extra motivation for the Tide. But as Milroe pointed out, trash talk is all part of the rivalry.
Having said that, do you think Riddick went a little too far?
More importantly, do you give Auburn any shot at pulling off the upset on Saturday???
