You may have wondered over the years how former Alabama quarterback and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts ended up at Oklahoma.
Surprisingly, it was his former head coach Nick Saban who told him to head to OU. Saban said Hurts wanted to go to Maryland or Miami but then he reconsider after talking to him.
Saban said Jalen Hurts wanted to transfer to Maryland or Miami, but Saban asked him: "'Who's got the best players on offense?' He said Oklahoma, and I said, 'That's where you need to go.' … And hell, I told him to do it knowing that we might have to play against him."
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) September 30, 2022
“Who’s got the best players on offense?” Saban said. Hurts later admitted that it was Oklahoma, and Saban told him that’s where he should go. “And hell, I told him to do it knowing that we might have to play against him.”
Hurts was the SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year back in 2016 but lost his starting job in the 2018 national championship game to Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagavailoa would be injured in their rematch against Georgia in the SEC Championship game the following year, Hurts would have to come in for him and he won the game for Alabama.
Although he went to Oklahoma and become their starting quarterback in 2019 and was the first-team All-Big 12 quarterback, many still see him as the quarterback from Alabama, and Hurts doesn’t seem to correct anyone who says that. Hurts did earn his bachelor’s degree from Alabama but did grad school at OU.