Imagine being benched in the national championship game.
Do we ever give Jalen Hurts enough credit for how he handled such a devastating experience getting yanked by Nick Saban for then freshman Tua Tagovailoa?
The Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback drama was only muted because of Hurts’ class, as he humbly served as a backup his junior year before transferring to the Oklahoma Sooners, where Lincoln Riley’s prolific offense resurrected his career.
Fast forward to this offseason with the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I have the approach of treating every year like I’m a freshman,” the humble star QB recently said. “Like I’m new to it, like I’m a rookie, and being diligent and patient in everything I’m doing.”
“I think that requires you to learn the individuals that you’re going out there to battle with – see what they’re good at, see what they’re not. Just see where their head is for better or worse and get to know them. That consists of spending time in the summer, throwing, checking up on folks, just building that rapport.”
In Hurts’ fifth NFL season, he’ll be working with his fourth offensive coordinator, former Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers OC Kellen Moore. After signing a monster $255 million contract extension last year, with almost $180 million guaranteed, the former Bama star regressed on the field, and the Eagles sputtered after starting 10-1 to lose on the road in the Wild Card round to fellow Sooner alum Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32-9.
There was always speculation that Hurts was dealing with injuries, and it only poured salt on the wound that last year’s offensive coordinator Brian Johnson was let go since the two were lifelong friends. If anyone could understand, it’s Hurts. He knows that in the cutthroat world of big-time college football and the NFL, the only thing that matters is results.
Oh yeah, and that freshman year at Alabama for Hurts: he was a sensation and one second away from winning a national championship for the Crimson Tide, falling to Deshaun Watson and the Clemson Tigers 35-31.
He understands heartache. It’s what you do next that makes a champion.