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Nick Saban reveals he recommended Jalen Hurts transfer to Oklahoma over Miami, Maryland
By Adam Spencer
Published:
When Jalen Hurts left Alabama as a graduate transfer prior to the 2019 season, he did so on good terms with everyone involved in the Crimson Tide program, including coach Nick Saban.
In fact, Saban revealed in an interview with the Philadelphia Eagles that was released on Sunday morning that he actually helped Hurts pick a new school.
As you can see below, Saban discusses the advice he gave Hurts when Hurts was down to his final 3 candidates — Oklahoma, Miami and Maryland:
Nick Saban talks in-depth about @JalenHurts’ development at Alabama in this exclusive interview with @EaglesXOs.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/zTmphRzWiR
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) May 10, 2020
“I remember him coming into me and saying, ‘I could go to Miami’ because the quarterback coach had gone to Miami as the offensive coordinator — the quarterback coach here, Dan Enos,” Saban said. “Mike Locksley got the head coaching job at Maryland. ‘I could go to Maryland or I could go to Oklahoma.’
“I said ‘Jalen, where do they have the best players?’ Because he felt more comfortable going where he knew these guys. And he said, ‘Well, I think they have the best players at Oklahoma.’ I said well we just played them, and they have some pretty good players on offense, too. I said, ‘You know I’ve always told you quarterback is a hard position to play if you don’t have good players around you. So if I was you, to create the most value — because you’ve got 1 year to do it — if you know you can be the starter there, go where they have the best players.’ … He did it and I think he did a great job for Oklahoma, as well.”
Considering Hurts finished second in the Heisman Trophy race and led the Sooners to a College Football Playoff appearance, it’s hard to argue that he didn’t make the right choice.
Now, we’ll see how he fares as a rookie with the Eagles after the team used a second-round pick on him in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
