Jalen Hurts Alabama Days

When Jalen got to Alabama he looked like he had the making to be the next great QB. He started off starting for Alabama freshman year and guiding them to the national championship. Watching his freshman season you would have thought that he was going to play 3 or 4 years at Alabama and then head off to be a first round draft pick. Then Tua Tagovailoa came into town and it seemed like Jalen felt the pressure and never panned out. It looked as though the Alabama coaches weren’t working with him. Tua then went on to save the Tide in their national championship game. That was the end of the story for Jalen Hurt’s story in Alabama. A couple years after leading Alabama to a national championship game and multiple sec titles. He was down and out with what looked like no hope to continue football. That is a long fall from a top rated prospect coming out of high school and one of the first freshman to start at Alabama in the Nick Saban era. The problem at Alabama was that he was always more of a runner than a passer. In the Nick Saban era not to many of the Crimson Tide QB’s have went on to be NFL starters. Jalen looked to be what seemed like a top prospect to actually embrace going to Alabama where they normally relied on game managers who don’t make many mistakes and keep the defense of the field with their running game. Only thing is when you play for Saban winning conference championships isn’t enough you have to be able to win the big game. The ugly part of a dynasty is that when you don’t win big you are cast off as if you where never that great in the first place. Many players have started off as top recruits at Alabama only too wash out and never realize their pro potential. Jalen was on his way to being the next in line. The sad thing is that most players who go to Alabama could have chances to play right away at other big time schools.

Jalen’s Transfer

What Jalen did next after Tua took the starting job was nothing short of noble. Instead of transferring and having two years of eligibility left he stayed with the team and kept pushing for that starting spot. Not only did he stay at Alabama and show his character he also improved his passing ability tremendously. He finally decided to transfer and he picked the perfect school in Oklahoma. Oklahoma has made a quick history out of taking transfer quarterbacks who didn’t pan out in their original places and turning them into number 1 overall picks. When Baker Mayfield first got to Oklahoma he was a walk-on who was leaving because he wasn’t promised the starting spot at Texas Tech. All Baker Mayfield did was end up breaking numerous record and winning the Heisman. Mayfield pretty much opened drew attention to what they had going on at Oklahoma and this lead to them landing yet another top transfer QB in Kyler Murray. Kyler Murray coming out of high school was a ultra talented QB who won three state championships. Kyler decided to attend Texas A&M out of high school and what happened next wasn’t what many predicted he would become. His first season at Texas A&M he battled Kyle Allen for the starting job only to end up in a season long quarterback battle that saw him have a few highs and a few lows. Ultimately he decided to transfer to Oklahoma to back up Baker Mayfield and wait his turn. When his turn finally came he lived up to the expectations and arguably had a better season than Baker did. When Kyler Murray won the Heisman and became the first overall pick in the NFL draft it was clear that Oklahoma had become the home for the transfer quarterback. When Jalen Hurts announced that he was going to Oklahoma many started predicting that he would be their next Heisman and possible first pick in the draft. 4 games into the season and Jalen is looking like the next in line Oklahoma transfer QB to win the Heisman and possibly go number 1. The only thing standing against him at the moment is possible injury and votes being tired of Oklahoma QB’s winning Heisman trophies. Stats wise he is having the best year of his career while still maintaining his penchant for not turning over the ball. When Jalen decided not to transfer and stay on Alabama last year I thought he was crazy now we are all seeing that he had a plan and he is projected as a first round pick. What a difference a year and Lincoln Riley makes.