Now in his sixth season with the Philadelphia Eagles, quarterback Jalen Hurts has built a solid NFL career, thus far. Drafted in 2020 in the second round as the team’s backup, he has since risen to the full-time starter. This culminated in Philly’s Super Bowl LIX victory, where the QB was named the Big Game’s MVP.
But how did Hurts’ college career prepare him? Let’s take a look back at his time at Alabama and Oklahoma and how he overcame his own personal adversity.
Jalen Hurts Makes Alabama History as a True Freshman
Hurts, a native of Channelview, Texas, a suburb outside Houston, committed to the Nick Saban-led Alabama Crimson Tide in 2015 before joining the team as a backup to then-starter Blake Barnett. By the second game of the 2016 season, his true freshman year, Hurts had taken the starting job — ‘Bama’s first true freshman quarterback in 32 years.
While he was just a true freshman, Hurts set the college football world on fire. With a completion percentage of 62.8%, he passed for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns to just nine interceptions. As a rusher, Hurts scrambled for 954 yards — a new school record for rushing yards by a quarterback — and 13 more scores for a total of 36.
While he broke several records as a freshman and even won SEC Freshman of the Year and other awards, the season culminated in a trip to the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship, where ‘Bama fell 35-31 to Clemson.
- Completions: 240
- Attempts: 382
- Yards: 2,780
- TDs: 23
- INTs: 9
- Rush Attempts: 191
- Rush Yards: 954
- Rush TDs: 13
Despite Near-Flawless Record, Hurts Gets Benched
Entering the 2017 season, like many Alabama teams under Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide were being tossed around as national championship picks. ‘Bama and Hurts started the season strong with victories over Florida State, Fresno State, and Colorado State before entering SEC play with a 59-0 dismantling of Vanderbilt in Nashville.
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Leading up to the annual Iron Bowl against Auburn, Alabama’s only real “close” game came in a Week 10 31-24 victory over Mississippi State in Starkville. Hurts’ “sophomore slump” culminated in a tough 26-14 loss to the Tigers in the last week of the regular season, temporarily removing them from the national title conversation.
In the national championship against Georgia, personal tragedy struck when Hurts was benched for true freshman Tua Tagovailoa, who led a miracle comeback to defeat the Bulldogs 26-23 in overtime on the infamous “2nd and 26” play.
- Completions: 154
- Attempts: 254
- Yards: 2,081
- TDs: 17
- INTs: 1
- Rush Attempts: 154
- Rush Yards: 855
- Rush TDs: 8
‘Bama Quarterback Battle Ends In Another Benching for Hurts
Entering the 2018 season, Alabama had a quarterback battle on its hands. While Hurts seemingly had the spot locked down, some wanted Tagovailoa to take the reins, especially after the Crimson Tide’s comeback victory in last season’s championship game.
While Hurts was eventually ruled the backup, he took the designation in stride. ‘Bama’s coaching staff was still heavily involved with the junior, leading to him completing 51 of his 70 total pass attempts for 765 yards and eight touchdowns to just two interceptions.
Granted, this was before the transfer portal and NIL deals were legalized, so while many college quarterbacks would have transferred before the season even started, Hurts remained on the sidelines, supporting Tagovailoa and the rest of the team while getting reps where he could.
In his last game at ‘Bama, the Tide fell 44-16 in the national title game against Clemson. This season, Hurts only attempted 10 or more passes once — mostly as the garbage-time quarterback in a 62-7 victory over Ole Miss.
- Completions: 51
- Attempts: 70
- Yards: 765
- TDs: 8
- INTs: 2
- Rush Attempts: 36
- Rush Yards: 167
- Rush TDs: 2
Hurts Finds New Life in Oklahoma as a Sooner
Shortly after the Crimson Tide fell to Clemson in the CFP National Championship Game, Hurts announced that he would be transferring to Big 12 power Oklahoma, a school with a recent history of developing quarterbacks into NFL talents.
In just his first game as a Sooner, Hurts shattered the school’s single-game yardage record by recording 396 total yards of offense against Akron. Just a couple of games later, his NFL Draft stock rose even more when he passed for 415 yards and three touchdowns against Texas Tech.
In fact, throughout the 2019 regular season, Hurts surpassed 150 passing yards in all but one game, threw for at least three touchdowns in eight games, and rushed for 20 more scores — a full resurgence of his true freshman self.
- PFSN College QBi Score: 87.7 (B+)
- Completions: 237
- Attempts: 340
- Yards: 3,851
- TDs: 32
- INTs: 8
- Rush Attempts: 233
- Rush Yards: 1,298
- Rush TDs: 20
While Oklahoma didn’t reach the same team success, falling 63-28 in the Peach Bowl Semifinal to eventual champions Joe Burrow and LSU, Hurts nearly reached the pinnacle of personal college football success, coming in second in Heisman Trophy voting.
Over the course of his college career, Hurts won a national championship (2017), SEC Freshman of the Year (2016), SEC Offensive Player of the Year (2016), Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year (2019), and more. He also amassed 9,477 passing yards, 80 passing scores, 3,274 rushing yards, 43 rushing touchdowns, and one receiving score.
