Alabama Athletics
Where Are They Now: Freddie Milons
Amidst the yells in protest of two children, a muffed voice answered the phone.
“Hey Mr. Joey,” the voice said. “It’s Freddie.”
Immediately establishing a first-name basis is all you need to know about former Alabama wide receiver Freddie Milons’ laid-back personality.
Milons quickly apologized for the noise in the background. Due to the current pandemic, he is having to take care of his kids, ages three and five, since schools are no longer in session.
“My hat goes off to all the daycare instructors of pre-kindergarten kids,” Milons chuckled. “How to create or develop a system to keep them occupied … I can do it for 15 seconds. Maybe.”
Milons was born in Starkville, Miss., in the summer of 1980. Prior to high school, Milons had always seen sports as more of an outlet for fun rather than a potential career. However, after a senior season as the starting quarterback at Starkville High School that saw him rush for over 1,000 yards and throw for over 600 more, Milons found himself stepping onto the campus of the University of Alabama in the summer of 1998.
At the start of his time with the Crimson Tide, Milons found himself unprepared compared to some of his other teammates.
“I saw it as sports,” Milons said. “I saw it as an opportunity and I just went and so from my freshman year I was thrust onto a university where there were some kids who got it. The Shaun Alexanders and the Andrew Zows — those guys were able to do more than just play ball. I was just having fun, but those guys were able to brand themselves for life after football and using the university as a resource and as a way just to network themselves.”
Milons was forced to adapt quickly and began to develop as a player. However, in 11 games played during his freshman season, he only played in 20 plays from the line of scrimmage.
In the 1999 season, a switch flipped in Milons.
He credits that switch being flipped to his position coach: Dabo Swinney.
“When I came as a true freshman, Dabo Swinney was my position coach,” Milons said. “So as a true freshman into my sophomore year and my junior year as it pertains to football and to academics every day and every meeting was in a room with Dabo Swinney. That infectious energy and that smile, his personality even then it was very impressionable to me and the rest of the receivers.
“His message was the same then as it is now: work ethic. Work ethic was his thing. It didn’t take long for me once I arrived on campus.”
Milons’ sophomore season was a complete reversal of the lack of play time that he had had as a freshman. In 1999, Milons made 65 receptions for 733 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
In the SEC Championship game against No. 4 Florida, Milons was named the MVP thanks to a 77-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter that propelled the No. 7 Crimson Tide to a 34-7 victory.
Over the course of his time at Alabama, Milons said that the most valuable lessons he learned came from Swinney and Crimson Tide head coach Mike DuBose.
“One of the lessons I remember him impressing on us along with coach Swinney was — it was something that former Alabama players always said — they all said ‘leave the university better than what it was when you left,’” Milons said. “One of the main lessons I took away from my time there was work ethic. If you put in the work, if you put in the time, if you make the sacrifices, some days will be won and some days will be lost but the lesson was if we put in the work — if we outwork out opponents — the chances of us being successful were greater.”
In his senior season in 2001, Milons set the Alabama program record for career receptions with 152, a record that had been held by David Bailey since 1971. While his record has since been surpassed by five other Crimson Tide players, the record was significant for him and his career at the time.
In the 2002 NFL draft Milons was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round. He signed a three year contract with the team, but due to a fractured fibula that he suffered in the Eagles’ final preseason game, Milons was forced to sit out his rookie season.
Unfortunately for Milons, his luck in the pros would only decrease. On August 31, 2003, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional draft pick. If the Steelers were to play Milons in one game, the Eagles would receive the pick. This resulted in him remaining inactive for the entire season.
In 2004, exactly one year to the day since he had been traded, Milons was released.
Milons was a member of the Baltimore Ravens practice squad in 2004, but was cut. The same story can be said in 2005 with the Cincinnati Bengals.
After four fruitless years in the NFL, Milons decided it was time to move on.
“I felt like there are other ways to make a living,” Milons said.
After retiring from the NFL, Milons moved back to his home city of Starkville. He currently works for a large private-sector technology company, but just because his football days are over doesn’t mean that he does not use the lessons he learned from Swinney and DuBose at Alabama.
“[DuBose] would say something along the lines of ‘anything you do is based off of sacrifice,” Milons said. “Don’t give up what you want most for what you want in the moment. In the corporate world, a big word that they use is integrity. And those are things that through trials and through exposure they teach you to focus on the big picture.”
In 2019, Milons and the rest of the 1999 SEC Championship team were honored at the Crimson Tide's game against Souther Miss on Sept. 21. Milons was an honorary captain at the game along with defensive lineman Cornelius Griffin.
The trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium was the first time Milons had stepped foot in Tuscaloosa for an extended period in over a decade.
Despite not returning to campus often, Milons says that he uses the lessons he learned at Alabama in his everyday life, which is something that he’s grateful for from his time with the Crimson Tide.
“That’s what I learned from the University of Alabama and my time there,” Milons said. “Where integrity, being truthful, character — it matters.”
