Jalen Hurts
 Hurts in 2018 | |
| Alabama Crimson Tide – No. 2 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class | Sophomore |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | August 7, 1998 Houston, Texas |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 218 lb (99 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
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| Bowl games | |
| High school | Channelview (TX) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Jalen Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Early years
Hurts attended Channelview High School in Channelview, Texas. Hurts's father, Averion, was the football coach at Channelview High School throughout his sons' high school careers. As a senior, he passed for 2,384 yards with 26 touchdown passes and rushed for 1,391 yards and 25 touchdowns. Hurts was a second-team all-district selection as a sophomore and was named the District 21-6A Overall MVP as a junior during his high school playing years. He played against the Texas A&M freshman standout running back Trayveon Williams throughout his high school career. Hurts was rated as a four-star recruit and was ranked among the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the Class of 2016.[1] Although Texas A&M made a strong push to recruit Hurts after the departure of their starting quarterback, Kyler Murray, they ultimately failed in their efforts after Hurts proceeded to commit to the University of Alabama on June 5, 2015. He was recruited by Alabama's Defensive Line Coach Bo Davis and Offensive Coordinator Lane Kiffin.[2] Hurts finished high school academically ranking 39th in his class.
In addition to football, Hurts participated in powerlifting. As a sophomore in high school, Hurts was squatting 500 pounds of weight. He would eventually become Regional Finalist in the Powerlifting 198-pound weight class.[3]
College career
Freshman season
As a true freshman at Alabama in 2016, Hurts competed to open the season as the starting quarterback.[4][5] Blake Barnett started the first game against the USC Trojans, but by the second game, Hurts had taken over the starting role, becoming the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Alabama in 32 years (Vince Sutton in 1984 was the last)[6].[7] Hurts produced a historic freshman season under head coach Nick Saban. He threw for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns with nine interceptions. His completion percentage was at 62.8 percent, and he finished the season with a quarterback rating of 139.12. He rushed for a total of 954 yards and 13 touchdowns, breaking the school single season record for rushing yards by a quarterback, surpassing Steadman Shealy's previous record of 791 yards. He finished the 2016 season with 36 overall touchdowns breaking Blake Sims's previous record for touchdowns in a single season for the Crimson Tide with a total of 35 which he set in 2014.[8] Hurts became the first quarterback coached by Nick Saban to rush for more than 11 touchdowns in a single season. He was the first player in Alabama history to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game and the first quarterback to rush for 120 yards or more in multiple games. In the Iron Bowl game against Auburn, Hurts completed 75% of his passes, which set a new Iron Bowl record.[8] Alabama concluded its 2016–2017 regular season with a perfect 12–0 (8–0 SEC) record. On November 30, 2016, Hurts was declared as one out of the ten finalists for the Manning Award which is given to the nation's top college quarterback. On December 3, 2016, he led his team to win the 2016 SEC Championship over the Florida Gators and was subsequently named SEC Offensive Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year, and received Freshman All- American from several publications. Hurts was featured on the cover page of Sports Illustrated College Football Playoff magazine on December 6, 2016.[9] On January 9, 2017, top-seeded Alabama lost the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship against the Clemson Tigers by a score of 35–31.[10] The bowl game was played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
Sophomore season
In 2017, Hurts led the Tide to a 12-1 season giving them a playoff spot as a #4 seed where they played Clemson in the 2018 Sugar Bowl. Hurts was the offensive MVP[11] in that game with Da'Ron Payne being the defensive MVP in a 24-6 win over the Tigers. Hurts and the Tide will face the Georgia Bulldogs on January 8, 2018 in the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship.
Personal life
Jalen Hurts's parents are Pamela and Averion Hurts. Hurts has two siblings, a younger sister, Kynnedy, and an older brother, named after their father, Averion, who was the starting quarterback for Texas Southern University who is now a youth football coach/retired football player. Hurts’s parents still attend his football games every week.[12]
References
- ^ "Jalen Hurts Recruiting Profile". Rivals.com. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "Texas dual-threat QB Jalen Hurts commits to Alabama".
- ^ "Meet Alabama's promising freshman quarterback and former powerlifter".
- ^ "Jalen Hurts ready to compete at QB position after helping Tide prepare for Clemson".
- ^ "Who is Jalen Hurts? Five things to know about freshman competing for Alabama starting job". 29 August 2016.
- ^ Byington, Alex (September 21, 2016). "Before Hurts, Sutton left his mark as freshman QB". Times Daily. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "Jalen Hurts takes definitive lead in QB battle as Alabama rolls".
- ^ a b "Alabama Football Stat Pack: Crimson Tide defense leads nation; Jalen Hurts sets Iron Bowl records".
- ^ "Photo: Jalen Hurts featured on cover of Sports Illustrated". 6 December 2016.
- ^ Russo, Ralph (January 10, 2017). "Watson and Clemson dethrone top-ranked Tide, 35–31". Associated Press. Tampa, Florida: AP Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ "Jalen Hurts May Not Be the Flashiest QB, but He's a Vital and Overlooked Part of Alabama's Offense". Sports Illustrated. 2 January 2018.
- ^ Womack, Chris (26 November 2016). "The role Jalen Hurts' family played on his path to becoming the Crimson Tide starting QB".
External links
