CFB: What Should Jalen Hurts Do?
"We have a lot of guys in the QB room that play really well," Jalen Hurts said. "He (Tua Tagovailoa) stepped in and did his thing ... He's built for stuff like this. He had a good impact, and I'm so happy for him. Happy for this team." It was one of the most shocking decisions the college football world has ever seen as Hurts, who has helped lead Alabama to a 26-2 record over the last two years, was benched coming out of the second half in the College Football Playoff national championship game. It wasn't even a thought prior to the game, but Hurts struggled mightily in the first half.
It's what Nick Saban had to do. The entire offense as a whole looked out of sorts in the first 30 minutes and if that continued, the Crimson Tide were going to lose, after trailing 13-0 at the break. In came Tagovailoa, who threw for 166 yards and three touchdowns on 58.3 percent passing, and one pick. He saved the team. Alabama came back, tied the game at 20-20 and pushed the game into overtime. After Georgia took a three-point lead, Tagovailoa ended the season with a 41-yard dime to WR DeVonta Smith to claim the title. Hurts, along with his teammates, subsequently celebrated the triumph.
Hurts showed more class than we are used to seeing from college athletes. He seemed genuinely happy for his teammates, and was proud to be a national champion, no matter the way it went down. He didn't pout or shy away from cameras. He held his head high (as he should) and took it all in as the confetti fell beside him. Hurts handled the postgame interview with ESPN about as well as possible. Obviously he was still a huge part of this teams success, getting the team to a 12-1 record prior to the Georgia game, and have 17 touchdowns to just one interception on the year. But it seems clear that Tagovailoa is going to be the starter from here on out, so what should Hurts do now?
He has a couple of options at his disposal. He can make the transition to another position like Braxton Miller did at Ohio State after J.T. Barrett's rise or he can transfer. Hurts is only a junior so he would have to sit out a year if he wanted to go elsewhere. It's going to come down to what he values more - playing time or winning. If he wants to leave the best legacy behind, it would make the most sense to transition to a running back and look for 5-10 carries per game, but as always at Alabama, the backfield is going to be crowded with an influx of talent. It'll be hard to get time over someone like Najee Harris.
Greg McElroy, former Alabama quarterback, spoke on the situation on the Dan Patrick Show: “He’s from Texas and the Texas Longhorns are in the quarterback market ... I do think that it would be very interesting. He’d be a sought-after guy with all the experience he had and knowing that he’d have a year to really focus and hone in on his skills and still would have two years of eligibility remaining." Whatever Hurts decides to do, he's already cemented himself as a great player at the collegiate level, but the next time we see him on the field, it may not be in an Alabama uniform.
Photo Credit: 247 Sports.
