Jalen Hurts a Possible Wildcard in Tide’s Quarterback Competition
By Ethan Sharp
If Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts continues to develop, he could be a wildcard in the Tide’s quarterback competition for this season.
ICYMI: Alabama News from Around the Web
The past two seasons have featured two different Alabama quarterbacks. Quarterback Blake Sims led the The Tide during the 2014 season to the playoffs, but they were defeated by Ohio State in the semifinals. The next season brought a new leader to the reigns of the ‘Bama offense. Quarterback Jake Coker led the Crimson Tide to their second playoff appearance and capped it off by defeating Clemson to win the national championship.
Once again Tide fans find themselves in the familiar situation of not knowing who their starting quarterback will be going into the next season. This off season presents four possible contenders to fill the quarterback vacancy. The one candidate that out shined the rest during The Golden Flake A-Day game was none other than freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts.
More from Bama Hammer
- Alabama Football: Moving past Crimson Tide quarterback rumors
- Alabama Football: How improved is the Ole Miss defense?
- Alabama Football: Power Ranking the SEC after week three
- Alabama’s latest win total projection hints that team is in trouble this season
- Alabama Football: What happened with again QB1 Jalen Milroe
Hurts was recruited out of Channelview, TX from Channelview High School primarily by offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin. The 6-foot-3, 208-pound quarterback committed to the Tide on June 5, 2015. Hurts put up impressive numbers his senior year at Channelview. He passed for 2,384 yards which resulted in 26 touchdowns with just four interceptions. Hurts already has an impressive resume with just those numbers alone, but his stats do not stop there. In addition to his passing stats, he also rushed for 1,391 yards resulting in 25 touchdowns. Can you say Blake Sims 2.0? When added together, Hurts accounted for 3,775 all purpose yards and 51 touchdowns in his senior year of high school alone. Those are scary good numbers for any defense that Hurts might would face.
Hurts enrolled early at Alabama and helped the defense prepare for Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. Despite having just graduated from high school, Hurts was used as the scout team quarterback and mimicked Watson for the defense.
The young quarterback got his first taste of what it was like to play in Bryant-Denny Stadium during Saturday’s A-Day game. Despite being the youngest athlete in the quarterback race, Hurts presented poise and and confidence in himself as he went on to out shine the other candidates. Hurts had more rushing yards during the game than any other player, including the running backs. He finished the game with 11 carries for 114 yards. In addition to being the leading rusher for the game, he also was the leading passer. He passed 11 for 15 for a total of 120 yards and the only touchdown of the game.
The longest running tenure from a quarterback of the Nick Saban era has been AJ McCarron. McCarron started as a sophomore and remained through his senior Season. Since then, the Tide has had had single season quarterbacks that leave fans worrying at the end of every season who is going to take their place. Every quarterback contender this year brings a lot of talent to the program. They all were top recruits in their respective classes.
More crimson tide: See Nick Saban's ‘Decade of Dominance’ Video
However, based on what I have seen so far during this spring and as long as Hurts can show leadership to the coaching staff, I would not be surprised if freshman Jalen Hurts started as Alabama’s 2016 quarterback, eliminating the worry of who the ‘Bama quarterback will be for at least two more years. In the end, that decision is left up to Coach Nick Saban and he really hasn’t steered the team wrong as of now and I don’t see it happening anytime soon.