Nick Saban shares his thoughts on Jalen Hurts’ potential in the NFL: He has proven that he can win at the position
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Making the transition from college to the NFL is difficult at every position on the field but at no position is that transition tougher than at quarterback.
Can Jalen Hurts successfully make that transition in Philadelphia? Nick Saban doesn’t see why not.
The Eagles surprised many by taking Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft and considering the team already has its franchise quarterback in Carson Wentz on the roster, the fit appears even more interesting for the former Oklahoma and Alabama quarterback.
The way Alabama’s coach sees it, Hurts has proven himself on the field despite battling through a ton of adversity and fits the mold of the quarterback the NFL has been trending toward in recent seasons.
“I think that Jalen Hurts is a great person, he was a great player here. He went through unprecedented adversity here,” Saban said in a recent interview with the NFL Network. “I mean, who has gone 26-2 as a starter, and then all of a sudden, was a backup quarterback because of Tua? The guy handled it extremely well, showed great maturity.
“I think there’s a lot more quarterbacks that are having success in the NFL right now that are outside of the old fashioned prototype, you know, drop back pass — that are having success. You know the guy in Kansas City, the guy in Baltimore, I mean these guys are all having tremendous amounts of success because they can extend plays and are very very athletic. So, I think Jalen has proven that he can win at the position. He won here, he won at Oklahoma. It’s a little different style of play.”
That’s a good point, as it wasn’t that long ago some were suggesting that Lamar Jackson should switch to receiver if he wants to play in the NFL. Two seasons later, Jackson won league MVP honors.
That may be too big of a leap to make for Hurts but finding a role on a team that’s shown to be creative on offense should be more in line with what the Eagles envision when they studied the quarterback’s game and decided to select him in the draft.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
