The 8-3 Philadelphia Eagles have a crucial Week 13 matchup with the 8-3 Chicago Bears on Black Friday, and they will need star quarterback Jalen Hurts to deliver a strong performance if they want to come out on top.
While Hurts hasn’t played his best football this season, the Eagles quarterback has already proven he can play at a championship level, leading Philadelphia to a Super Bowl title last year. Still, long before he was a star in the league, Hurts put together one of the most unique college careers in recent memory.
Tracing Jalen Hurts’ Path From Four-Star Recruit to Franchise QB
Coming out of Channelview High School in Channelview, Texas, Hurts was ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the 2016 class by 247Sports. He drew interest from plenty of programs across the country, but ultimately chose to commit to Alabama.
Hurts played right away as a true freshman for head coach Nick Saban in 2016 and delivered a strong season. He totaled more than 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns through the air and on the ground while leading the Crimson Tide to a national championship appearance.
Hurts found similar success in his sophomore season, throwing for 2,081 yards and rushing for 855, while scoring 25 total touchdowns and leading Alabama to another national championship appearance.
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However, in the title game against Georgia, Hurts fell short of Saban’s expectations and was ultimately benched for freshman Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa would lead the Crimson Tide to a comeback win over the Bulldogs, securing the national championship for Alabama.
Tagovailoa was named Alabama’s starter in 2018, Hurts’ junior season. Hurts spent most of the year on the bench but still contributed to the offense, throwing for over 700 yards and adding more than 150 on the ground while scoring 10 touchdowns.
At the end of his junior season, Hurts faced a crossroads. He could either stay in Tuscaloosa and serve as Tagovailoa’s backup again or transfer to a different program. He chose the latter, transferring to Oklahoma for his senior year.
Under Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley, Hurts exploded in 2019. He threw for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns, and eight interceptions while completing a Big 12-best 69.7% of his passes.
He was elite as a runner as well, rushing for 1,298 yards and 20 additional touchdowns. Hurts led Oklahoma to a College Football Playoff appearance and finished second in Heisman voting.
His performance in his senior season shot him up draft boards for the 2019 NFL Draft, where he was selected in the second round by the Eagles. Since entering the league, Hurts has won two NFC titles with Philadelphia, earned a Super Bowl ring, and established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
He’s having a solid year in 2025, ranking ninth among all NFL quarterbacks in PFSN’s QBi metric. If he can play as he did at Oklahoma on Black Friday, the Eagles should be able to secure their ninth win of the season.