The 2025 quarterback class is largely not expected to be as amped as that of the 2024 class, but there are still several bright spots within it. 

One of those is Alabama's Jalen Milroe, who is the largest reason that the Crimson Tide's quarterback room stood in the top tier of ESPN's most recent rankings. The only other teams that were listed in the same spot by the network's David Hale were Georgia, Oregon and Texas.

Here's a look at what Hale had to say about the tier:

Beck might be next year's No. 1 overall pick, but he certainly wasn't the biggest talent on his own offense last year. Milroe was benched at one point. After Week 3, Ewers had just three games with multiple touchdown passes. Gabriel has been prolific for years, but has he ever really been great?

Look around the country and you'll find your share of other quality quarterbacks, but none quite so accomplished as this tier. Ewers and Milroe have started playoff games, something only one other quarterback in the country can say (Cade McNamara, believe it or not). Gabriel has thrown for nearly 15,000 career yards — 2,550 more than any other returning quarterback. Beck threw for nearly 4,000 yards and completed 72% of his passes last season, and he'll helm what might be the country's best team in 2024.

So yeah, this is the top tier. In another season, the bar might be set a little higher, but it's also likely these guys are a good bit better than you're thinking.

Milroe, who came on as a late potential Heisman Trophy candidate, finished out the 2023 season with a 65.8% completion rate, passing for 2,834 yards with 23 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. 

Some other important stats to note are that Milroe led the country with 26 scrambles for a first down, including four that resulted in touchdowns last season. There was also no quarterback outside of Milroe  (70.2%) who had a higher percentage of his dropbacks come vs. zone last season.

Milroe had success against vs. zone coverage (11.2 yards per pass, 64.9 raw QBR, 16 TD, 4 INT) and but had more difficulty against man coverage (8.3 yards per pass, 55.4 raw QBR, 5 TDs and 2 picks).

How Milroe and his backup Ty Simpson fare in 2024, starting with a matchup against Western Kentucky on Aug. 31 will be something to keep an eye on as Alabama looks to reestablish its dominance within a shaken up college football landscape.