Quarterback Jalen Milroe didn't play at all against South Florida after starting the first two games of the season, which led to the natural question: Why?

That was especially the case when Tyler Buchner couldn't get the offense going and Ty Simpson took a while to get the offense moving, too. Alabama won, but only put up 17 points as Milroe stayed on the sideline the entire game.

Saban told ESPN on Thursday that he told all three quarterbacks he would "give them all chances in games," ESPN's Chris Lowe wrote.

"That was it. Nothing else," Saban said, per ESPN. "I've got confidence in Jalen. I believe in him. The one thing that we've always talked about is you make enough good plays, but you've got to eliminate the devastating plays, the ones that are killers. It happened twice in the Texas game, but I think he's learned from it."

REQUIRED READING: The secret to unlocking Alabama's offense with Jalen Milroe? Start with the running game

OFFENSIVE LINE: What changes, if any, need to be made on Alabama football's offensive line?

Saban told ESPN that Milroe was "initially frustrated" when he learned of the decision to play Buchner and Simpson in Tampa. Milroe was seen celebrating his teammates' success on the sidelines, though.

"He really has been supportive of his teammates, and I was happy to see that," Saban said after the win over South Florida. "Hopefully, we’ll all learn lessons from the experiences that we have and move forward in a positive way.”

Milroe has since been named the starter and will run the offense as No. 12 Alabama (2-1) takes on No. 16 Ole Miss (3-0) on Saturday (2:30 p.m., CBS) at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Jalen Milroe: Nick Saban explains why QB didn't play vs. USF