Former Alabama starting quarterback Jalen Hurts was once No. 1 on the depth chart in a quarterback room that also featured Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones, each of whom would become a Heisman Trophy finalist and NFL starter in Week 1 of the 2021 season. After transferring to Oklahoma, Hurts was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Here’s everything you need to know about Jalen Hurts’ college career.
The vitals on Jalen Hurts
Schools: Alabama, Oklahoma
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-1
Weight: 218 pounds
Years active: 2016-19
Here are Jalen Hurts’ career stats in college. Scroll to the right to view the complete stats.
| Year | games | completions | attempts | comp. {b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a} | Yards | Y/A | TD | int | rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 15 | 240 | 382 | 62.8 | 2,780 | 7.3 | 23 | 9 | 139.1 |
| 2017 | 14 | 154 | 255 | 60.4 | 2,081 | 8.2 | 17 | 1 | 150.2 |
| 2018 | 13 | 51 | 70 | 72.9 | 765 | 10.9 | 8 | 2 | 196.7 |
| 2019 | 14 | 237 | 340 | 69.7 | 3,851 | 11.3 | 32 | 8 | 191.2 |
| Career | 56 | 682 | 1,047 | 67.4 | 9,477 | 9.1 | 80 | 20 | 162.6 |
Where did Jalen Hurts go to college?
Jalen Hurts enrolled at Alabama, where he was the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback for two seasons, before playing as the team’s backup as a junior. He then transferred to Oklahoma for his senior season, where he replaced Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray and Hurts produced a Heisman finalist season of his own.
What kind of prospect was Jalen Hurts in high school?
Hurts was ranked as the No. 4 dual-threat quarterback prospect in the 2016 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings and a top-200 prospect nationally. He chose Alabama over Mississippi State and Texas A&M, among other schools.
What was Jalen Hurts’ record in college?
In games in which Jalen Hurts appeared in college, his teams went a combined 51-5. In each of his first three seasons of college, his team only lost once and he appeared in seven College Football Playoff games in his career.
Records set by Jalen Hurts
Here are the records and statistical rankings set by Hurts in college:
- One of 17 players in FBS history to rush for 40 touchdowns and pass for 40 touchdowns in a career
- One of 24 players in FBS history to pass for 200 points and score 200 points from rushing/receiving in a career
- One of 35 quarterbacks in FBS history to throw for at least 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season
- One of 47 quarterbacks in FBS history to throw for at least 4,000 yards and rush for 2,000 yards in a career
- Lowest interception percentage in a season in Alabama history (min. 100 attempts): 0.39 percent (2017)
- Most passing yards in Alabama history in a debut as a starting quarterback: 287 yards
- Most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback in Oklahoma history: 1,298 yards
- 1st in Alabama history in total offensive plays in a season: 573 plays (2016)
- 2nd in Alabama history in total offense per game in a career: 181.0 yards
- 2nd in Oklahoma history in single-game passing efficiency rating: 308.49 (Oct. 19, 2019 against Baylor)
- 2nd in Oklahoma history in career passing efficiency rating (min. 200 attempts): 191.20
- 3rd in Alabama history in total touchdowns in a season: 36 touchdowns (2016)
- 3rd in Alabama history in total touchdowns in a career: 71 touchdowns
- 3rd in Alabama history in wins as a starting quarterback: 26 wins
- 3rd in Oklahoma history in completion percentage in a season: .697 (2019)
- 4th in Alabama history in career winning percentage as a starting quarterback: .929
- 4th in Alabama history in total offense in a game: 447 yards (Nov. 12, 2016)
- 4th in Alabama history in total offense in a season: 3,734 yards (2016)
- 4th in Alabama history in total offense in a career: 6,670 yards
- 5th in Oklahoma history in total offense in a game: 508 yards (Sept. 1, 2019 against Houston)
- T-6th in Oklahoma in rushing touchdowns in a season: 20 touchdowns
- 8th in Oklahoma history in passing yards in a season: 3,851 yards (2019)
- 10th in FBS history in single-season passing efficiency: 191.2 (2019)
- 10th in FBS history in career passing yards per attempt: 9.06 yards
- 12th in Oklahoma history in rushing yards in a season: 1,298 yards
- 18th in FBS history in total offense in a season: 5,149 yards (2019)
- 21st in FBS history in career passing efficiency: 162.7
- 23rd in Alabama history in career rushing yards: 1,976 rushing yards
What were some of Jalen Hurts’ best games in college?
Hurts played in 56 games in his college career and the teams he played on made the College Football Playoff each season, so there are numerous games to choose from when highlighting his best performances in college.
Here are some of Hurts’ most notable performances in college:
Alabama 38, Western Kentucky 10 | Sept. 10, 2016
Starting for the first time in the second game of his college career, Hurts threw for two touchdowns and 287 yards against Western Kentucky, the latter of which was a school record for passing yards in a debut as a starter. It was the start of the Jalen Hurts era at Alabama, which ended with him becoming one of the winningest quarterbacks in school history in terms of wins and winning percentage.
Alabama 31, Mississippi State 24 | Nov. 11, 2017
Alabama arrived in Starkville, Mississippi, with a 9-0 record and the Bulldogs sitting at 7-2. The Crimson Tide found itself in a dogfight — pun intended. Mississippi State scored first on an Aeris Williams touchdown run in the first quarter and the Bulldogs held leads of 7-0, 14-7, 21-17 and 24-17. But with 25 seconds left, Hurts found DeVonta Smith — you know, that guy who’d win a Heisman a few years later — for the game-winning touchdown. 31-24. It wasn’t Hurts’ best game, but he threw the game-winning score on the road and ran for another.
Alabama ultimately lost to Auburn and missed out on the SEC Championship that season (but the Crimson Tide still made, and won, the College Football Playoff), but Hurts’ late-game heroics kept Alabama’s record perfect through 10 games.
Alabama 35, Georgia 28 | Dec. 1, 2018
In a scene fit for a Hollywood movie script, Hurts replaced the injured Tua Tagovailoa, who had replaced Hurts in the previous season’s CFP National Championship and led the team to a national championship, and Hurts then led two fourth-quarter touchdown drives as Alabama won 35-28 over Georgia after trailing 28-14 in the third quarter.
The win propelled Alabama to a 13-0 record entering the playoff and that wouldn’t have been possible without Hurts’ 7-for-9 passing for 82 yards and a touchdown pass, while he ran for another.
Oklahoma 49, Houston 31 | Sept. 1, 2019
In his first game with Oklahoma, after transferring from Alabama, all Hurts did was be responsible for six total touchdowns — three throwing and three rushing — as he completed 87 percent of his 23 pass attempts while running for a career-high 176 yards on 11 yards per attempt. He had 508 yards of total offense, which put him firmly in the Heisman Trophy conversation from Week 1.
What awards did Jalen Hurts win in college?
Here are the awards and honors Hurts won in college:
- 2016 AP SEC Newcomer of the Year
- 2016 SEC Freshman of the Year
- 2016 SEC Offensive Player of the Year
- 2016 First Team All-SEC
- 2017 national champion
- 2018 Sugar Bowl Outstanding Player Award
- 2019 First Team All-Big 12
- 2019 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year
What did people say about Jalen Hurts?
Former Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley, after Alabama beat Kentucky in 2016: “He actually came to me and said we need to calm down. He’s one of those guys. I think he’s like the Jameis Winston guy. Just like he’s very cool when something’s going wrong, he’s like, `Calm down, calm down and let’s just keep going.’ And I answered him, `You’re right, let’s play.”
Alabama coach Nick Saban, on Alabama’s offense after a win over Arkansas: “It works well for us, it’s when we play the best. Our quarterback is well-suited for it, and I think we’ve done a good job as a staff developing the system where it’s maybe a little more efficient than when we started doing it a couple years ago.”
Saban, after Alabama beat LSU 10-0 in 2016: “He has great poise. I don’t think the stage is too big for him at all. He expects a lot of himself and we expect a lot of him because he’s in a role that has tremendous responsibility. He has handled that very, very well.”
Former Alabama guard Ross Piersbacher, after Alabama defeated Mississippi State in 2016: “In practice, he’ll sling it. It’s fun to see him do that in a game. I think that’s big for his confidence.”
Former Alabama tight end Hale Hentges, after Alabama defeated Fresno State in 2017: “He made it known to all of us right from the get-go that, `Hey guys, we’ve got to play better this week. And we did.”
Saban, after Hurts entered the 2018 SEC Championship to lead Alabama to a come-from-behind victory over Georgia: “I’ve probably never been more proud of a player than Jalen.”
Saban, continued: “It’s unprecedented to have a guy that won as many games as he won … start as a freshman, only lose a couple of games the whole time that he was the starter, and then all of a sudden he’s not the quarterback. How do you manage that? How do you handle that? You’ve got to have a tremendous amount of class and character to put team first, knowing your situation is not what it used to be.”
Former Alabama linebacker Mack Wilson, after Alabama’s 2018 SEC championship: “When he went into the game, I was telling Dylan Moses, ‘Man, it’s like deja vu.’ I was like, `Watch him go in and bring us back and win the game.’ I knew he was going to do that and I’m pretty sure everybody else did, too.”
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, after Hurts’ Oklahoma debut: “He played good. There were things he could do better, but I thought he handled the moment good. You could tell out there that he’d been in it, certainly. I’m sure he had some nerves, but he did a good job managing them.”
Houston coach Dana Holgorsen, after Houston fell to Oklahoma in its 2019 season-opener: “Four years ago, they were good. A year later, they were the best offense in college football. A year later, with a new quarterback, they’re the best offense in college football. A year later, with a new quarterback, they looked the same to me.”
