Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts has been magnificent during his true freshman season.

The Texas native took over as Alabama’s quarterback during the Tide’s season opener and has started in all of the last five games. Hurts has thrown for 1,242 yards, 9 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 97-of-152 passing, and he’s rushed for 296 yards and 5 touchdowns on 62 attempts.

He’s also recorded a 60 percent completion percentage in five consecutive games, including a season-best 76.5 percentage in Week 6.

The Tide currently ranks as No. 4 in total offense and No. 5 in passing offense among SEC teams. Basically, Alabama hasn’t lost a beat playing the dual-threat true freshman under center.

Yet there’s still some skepticism surrounding Hurts’ performances so far. Many believe that Alabama has simplified its offense to cater to the true freshman. As CFB Film Room pointed out, Hurts’ high completion percentage is due to many passing attempts in areas with a low degree of difficulty.

CBS Sports’ Gary Danielson, who will call Alabama’s game at Tennessee this weekend, also noted that the Tide coaches have done an excellent job at limiting the freshman’s mistakes during an appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday.

“Lane (Kiffin) and I think Nick (Saban) has done a wonderful job of not allowing Jalen Hurts to throw certain types of passes in situations in a game where he can make big mistakes,” Danielson said. “He doesn’t throw it between the hashes that much. On third down, they protect him when he throws. But he hasn’t had to do that. His defense and their football team has kept him from having to do that.”

But perhaps the biggest issue for Hurts will be avoiding opposing pass-rushers. According to CFB Film Room, Hurts has completed 7-of-27 pass attempts while under pressure this season.

While that hasn’t hindered Alabama so far, it could be a problem in the coming weeks. The Tide will face Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU during its next three games, which means it will also play against Derek Barnett, Myles Garrett and Arden Key, arguably the three top pass-rushers in the conference.

First, the Tide must stop Barnett in this weekend’s matchup at Neyland Stadium. The junior leads the Vols with 5.0 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss through his first six games.

Barnett also set a school freshman sack record (10.0) in 2014, which would’ve been a conference record had it not been for Garrett’s 11.5 total that same season.

The A&M junior has also continued his success in his third season with 4.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss, despite being limited due to a leg injury. But Garrett looks to be fully recovered after recording a sack and a forced fumble during last week’s 45-38 double-overtime win over Tennessee.

Alabama will have a bye week before facing LSU and Key on Nov. 5. The sophomore leads the SEC with 7.0 sacks and is tied for fifth with 7.5 tackles for loss.

But that doesn’t mean Hurts is incapable of surviving this tough three-game stretch. His statistics under pressure could be skewed given that he’s only faced it an estimated 18 percent of the time he’s attempted a pass.

There’s room for improvement, especially as Hurts continues to gain in-game experience. The freshman has consistently evaded opposing pass-rushers more as the season progresses, which included being sacked zero times during last week’s 49-30 win over Arkansas.

So there is a chance that Hurts will still flourish against the tough schedule, but he will need to make adjustments. Barnett, Garrett and Key are superior to any opposing pass-rushers he’s faced through his first six games.

That trio may be the biggest obstacle to the Tide remaining undefeated during its next three games.