Nick Saban shares thoughts on Jalen Hurts ahead of his first NFL start
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Philadelphia Eagles are having a nightmare season, and this week, they’re going to make a switch at quarterback.
When the Eagles take the field against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, former Alabama and Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts will get the start over Carson Wentz.
On Wednesday night, Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked about Hurts by an Eagles reporter. Saban explained what made Hurts such a joy to coach (via 247Sports):
“The guy’s got great character,” Saban said. “He’s as fine a person as we’ve ever had in the program. He’s a very good leader. He’s a hard worker. He’s well-liked by his teammates. Winning was important to him, and he wanted to do whatever he had to do to try to help his team have a chance to win. I think he probably went through a much more difficult circumstance here in terms of being 26-2 or whatever he was as a starter and then somebody else starting in his place, and then he had to take that person’s place in the SEC Championship Game and go in and win the game — and come from behind to do it.
“So, he’s been in a lot of tough circumstances, and he was very supportive when he was the guy, he was supportive of the guy behind him. When that guy became the man, he was very supportive of him when he had to sit behind him. And he also worked really hard in the backup role so that he could improve and get better so that he would have a chance to play in the NFL someday, and he really took advantage of that. So, when he went to Oklahoma, I thought he was a better passer and really did a lot of things really, really well. This is as good a person — and I feel bad for you all in Philadelphia if you haven’t had a chance to meet him because he’s a guy that’s really easy to fall in love with, that’s for sure, because he’s a great person and he’s got a great family.”
Fans in Philly have turned against Wentz after his struggles. Can Hurts show enough to take over the job for good? We’ll find out over the next couple of weeks.
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.
