Jalen Hurts’ college career is well-documented and, perhaps, even more celebrated.
The national championship-winning Alabama quarterback transferred to Oklahoma, and, in the process, worked with an impressive list of coaches in that time.
On Monday, while appearing on the Manning Megacast - or “ManningCast” - Peyton Manning pointed out the great coaches Hurts played for and asked the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback how Alabama coach Nick Saban, then-Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, former Alabama offensive coordinator Brian Daboll (2017) and former Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin (2016) helped him reach the NFL.
The broadcast is being live streamed on DirecTV Stream (free trial) and fuboTV (live stream).
“They all had unique ways of looking at the game,” Hurts said.
“I think about coach Kiffin, and he was a guy that told me straight up, ‘I’ve had Amari Cooper. I’ve had Derrick Henry. I’ve had different types of players where I’m going to put you in a position to be successful. You just have to go out there and let your talents show. Go out there and play the game.’”
With Daboll, it was all about the passing game. Learning, “the Patriot way,” he explained.
“Being with coach Riley, he’s always done phenomenal things with the quarterback, putting them in position to make plays.”
What he liked most about Saban was how much similar he and his former head coach are.
“Coach Saban, I don’t think people realize how alike we are,” Hurts explained. “That was really the deciding factor for me going to Alabama out of high school because I saw so much of myself in him. I like everything about it. I like everything he’s doing. I want to go win a championship.”
Hurts was 26-2 as a starter and led the Crimson Tide to the national championship game in his first two seasons. He was beat out for the job by Tua Tagovailoa this fall after Tagovailoa replaced him in the second half of last year’s title game against Georgia.
Hurts served as a backup and played sparingly throughout the season. His biggest contribution came in the SEC championship game when he replaced an injured Tagovailoa and led Alabama on two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to beat the Bulldogs.
In his three seasons, he threw for 5,626 yards and 48 touchdowns and ran for 1,976 yards and 23 scores.
At Oklahoma, Hurts averaged 275.1 passing yards and 92.7 rushing yards per contest while compiling 5,149 yards of total offense in a season he led the Sooners to a 12-2 record, Big 12 title and the College Football Playoff semifinal game.
Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.
Ad Choices