National Football League

Jalen Hurts' journey through college to the NFL's biggest stage, Super Bowl LIX

Updated Jan. 30, 2025 3:27 p.m. ET

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RJ Young

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

It's hard for Oklahoma fans to look back on Jalen Hurts' only season in Norman. 

During the 2019 college football season, Oklahoma looked like a program that was ready to ascend into the national title game and perhaps win its first since 2000. The work had been done. The foundation was laid.

After making the four-team College Football Playoff in each of the previous two seasons, then-head coach Lincoln Riley landed a third-straight transfer quarterback who proved capable of not just leading the Sooners in a return to the CFP, but winning a semifinal for the first time in school history because, unlike the two players before, Hurts had done it before. And he had a national title ring to show for it.

The former four-star prospect out of Channelview, Texas, committed to Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide back in June 2015. He spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career in Tuscaloosa, all of which resulted in trips to the CFP National Championship. During his sophomore campaign, Hurts led Alabama to an 11-1 regular-season record and a spot in the title game against SEC foe Georgia. After falling behind 13-0 at halftime, Hurts was benched in favor of Tua Tagovailoa, who led Alabama to a come-from-behind win.

Hurts spent the following season in a backup role behind Tagovailoa before entering the transfer portal the following offseason and committing to Oklahoma ahead of the 2019 campaign.

Despite being the starter in Oklahoma's first road loss to Kansas State since 1996 and snapping a five-year, 22-game winning streak on the road, Hurts still threw for 395 yards and rushed for 95. That year, Hurts and linebacker Nik Bonitto brought the Sooners back from the dead in the most dramatic comeback the Sooners have engineered in the 21st century. After trailing Baylor 28-3 in the first half, the Sooners won 34-21 in Waco, Texas, to help propel them into the Big 12 title game and clinch the league title that catapulted them into the 2019 Peach Bowl.

It's easy to forget now that Hurts put up better passing and rushing numbers in 2019 with 3,851 passing yards, 1,298 rushing yards and 53 total TDs — including one receiving TD — than 2023 Heisman winner Jayden Daniels, who accounted for 3,812 passing yards, 1,134 rushing yards and 50 total TDs at LSU.

It's easier to forget because in 2019, LSU annihilated Oklahoma in the semifinal en route to the national championship, and there was little Hurts nor the Oklahoma defense could do about it.

When Hurts was selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, I was surprised. I didn't expect a player who went just 15 of 31 for 217 passing yards, 43 rushing yards and two TDs in his final collegiate game to garner much attention. And I wasn't sure he was the stuff of franchise NFL quarterbacks.

Yes, he finished second in the Heisman voting in 2019 behind Joe Burrow. But he still had a problem holding onto the football — a problem that cost the Eagles their last opportunity to win the Super Bowl against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2023. He has fumbled the ball 25 times since entering the NFL and at least four times in every season he's played. For a player who has carried the ball at least 100 times in six out of the last eight seasons, ball security is paramount. But it also led to his superpower — explosive plays.

Much like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, Hurts has the ability to extend plays with his legs while also being one of, if not the strongest player at his position. He can outrun and run over opposing defenders while taking advantage of two of the best wideouts in the NFL in A.J. Brown and former Alabama teammate and Heisman winner DeVonta Smith, as well as one of the best offensive lines in the sport. Building around his skill set and adding a superstar tailback via free agency in Saquon Barkley has only served to accentuate Hurts' physical gifts and unflappable nature.

During his time at Oklahoma, Hurts made it clear that Saban had an impact on him, displaying many of his more famous quirks. He treated questions like they were reasons to slight him or his team, and praise like a way to soften his resolve. The only words said about the team worth carrying forward come from practice, meetings or coaches.

But what makes Hurts himself is the following: He once told a parable about a coffee bean in water to try to relay a point that he would like to be the kind of person whose actions spread. He might take an opportunity to make a question personal when asked in good faith. He is willing to say and do whatever it takes to play well, and he has always been referred to as a consummate teammate. He's always had his detractors, supporters and quite a few caught in between.

But in Super Bowl LIX, a rematch of the one the Eagles let get away, I'd just like to see him hold onto the ball.

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RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube.

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