![]() He graduated that December, but still had a year of eligibility.ĥ Jalen Hurts has the Eagles in Super Bowl 2023. He did get one moment of glory, relieving an injured Tagovailoa during the 2018 SEC Championship game, guiding ’Bama into the CFP. He stuck around Alabama for another year, competed with Tua, but served as a backup. It was assumed that Hurts would transfer within a few days. I wrote about Hurts and the replies flooded in, folks taken by a strong picture of sportsmanship and selflessness at a time, especially in college sports, when both seemed in such short supply. That was an OG reaction from a 19-year-old kid, and immediately the reaction was palpable and visceral. “It’s my duty to do things like that, and to do all those things genuinely.” “It was important for me to stay true to myself and be the person I am, and the leader I am, regardless of the circumstances,” Hurts said in the locker room later on, as reporters replaced the cameramen fruitlessly looking for signs of bitterness or envy. If you didn’t know he’d been benched, you wouldn’t know he’d been benched.ĥ Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates with Jalen Hurts #2 after beating the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP title game in 2018. And at game’s end, after his replacement had made one of the forever throws in college football history, Hurts ran around in spastic glee just like every other one of his teammates. When the kid had his second scoring throw, again it was Hurts who ran onto the field and hugged his erstwhile backup. When Tagovailoa threw his first TD pass and gave the Tide life, it was Hurts who was first to greet him, pounding on his shoulder pads. Maybe, if they got lucky, they’d see Hurts actually pouting on the sidelines, or yelling, making a prima-donna nuisance of himself. A star quarterback gets sent to the bench? Surely, at the least, there would be a few shots of eyerolls. And he was brilliant, leading ’Bama to a 26-23 win, including a 41-yard touchdown strike to DeVonta Smith that won the game in overtime.Įagles’ dominant pass rush preying on Patrick Mahomes could decide Super BowlĪnd all across the second half, the TV cameras went searching for Jalen Hurts. You figured that head coach Nick Saban was cooking up something in the halftime locker room, but it was stunning when Alabama’s offense came on the field and a freshman named Tua Tagovailoa came trotting on. The Crimson Tide trailed 13-0 at the half. There were Saturdays when he looked like the best quarterback in America. His record heading into that College Football Playoff national championship against Georgia was 23-2. Hurts had won the QB1 gig the year before as a true freshman, the first time that had happened in Tuscaloosa in 32 years. Jalen Hurts began that night owning one of the best spots in all of college football: quarterback of the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide, ranked No. Tommy DeVito is among New York City icons on fans' nice listįive years later, it remains the gold-standard good-teammate moment.įive years later, even with all Jalen Hurts has accomplished, even as he stands a week away from leading the Eagles into Super Bowl 2023 against the Chiefs, it is still a defining glimpse into his soul, and perhaps explains why he has been able to develop, so rapidly, into one of the NFL’s most electric quarterbacks. Hopes expire on what was once bright Giants and Jets seasonsĪnother Zach Wilson win could grant an Aaron Rodgers Christmas wish Julius Randle is doing far more than just showing up these days Jets stuck in ridiculous Aaron Rodgers 'Groundhog Day' loop
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