There’s never been a player easier to root for than Jalen Hurts. The embodiment of a hard-working, blue-collar, coach’s son. He’s been doubted every step of the way, but now he’s a Super Bowl Champion and a Super Bowl MVP. What can be said now?
Eight and a half years ago the world got its first look at Jalen Hurts. Coming on in relief of an ineffective Blake Barnett in the first quarter of Alabama’s 2016 season opener against USC, he fumbled the very first time he got his hands on the ball.
After that, the true freshman scored four touchdowns and led Alabama to a dominant 52-6 win over USC. His poise and quiet confidence was evident from the very beginning.
All Hurts would do from there is win the SEC Offensive Player of the Year award and lead Alabama to a 26-2 record during his 28 games as the team’s starting quarterback. He got the Crimson Tide to the national championship in back-to-back seasons. In his first title game, he scored a go-ahead touchdown with two-minutes to play, but had to watch from the sidelines as Deshaun Watson led Clemson to a game-winning touchdown drive.
The next year, Hurts was benched after struggling in the first half against Georgia. Tua Tagovailoa came off the bench and heroically led Alabama to a come from behind win.
Hurts never started at Alabama again, but he stayed for one more season, backing up Tagovailoa and having his own moment in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia. He replaced an injured Tagovailoa and led Alabama to a comeback win over the Bulldogs in the same building he had been benched the year before. A moment straight from a Hollywood script and one that made the normally unflappable Nick Saban emotional in the postgame interview.
He will always be an Alabama legend, regardless of how other fans feel about it. Hurts transferred to Oklahoma so he could start his final season with Tagovailoa still fully entrenched in Tuscaloosa. He parlayed a strong season in Norman and became a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Most didn’t view Hurts’ future as a QB at the next level. There was chatter about him potentially changing positions. He was for certain a pro-level athlete. But few believed he could be a professional quarterback.
His selection by the Eagles was met with mockery by NFL fans, including those in Philadelphia, the place he would call home. Fans didn’t understand why they would take a QB in the second-round when Carson Wentz was entrenched as the team’s starter.
Now, Wentz is the backup in Kansas City and watched Hurts – the guy who took his job in Philly – lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory.
Hurts led the Eagles to the Super Bowl two years ago. They lost a thriller to the Chiefs in a game that undoubtedly invoked memories of his freshman season at Alabama.
