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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Entertainment
Dan Lyons

Jalen Hurts Super Bowl Berth Sparks Alabama, Oklahoma Debate

Before he was a Super Bowl-bound starting quarterback for the Eagles, Jalen Hurts had one of the most unique college football careers in recent memory. His current NFL success has fans and media members debating whether Alabama or Oklahoma gets to lay claim to him as one of their own.

Hurts began his career at Alabama in 2016, taking over as starting quarterback early on during his freshman season. He won SEC Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year and led the team to a national championship appearance, where the Crimson Tide fell to Clemson. A year later, with the team back in the national championship against Georgia but struggling at the half, Hurts was pulled for Tua Tagovailoa, who led the team to a comeback win to capture the title. After sitting behind Tagovailoa as a junior, he transferred to Oklahoma in ’19 for his final season, finishing second in Heisman Trophy voting to Joe Burrow and earning All-Big 12 honors.

Hurts spent most of his college career at Alabama, and started most of the year for a national championship team, but posted his best season at Oklahoma and was drafted after his year in Lincoln Riley’s Sooners offense. 

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