Jalen Hurts Claims Cam Newton Tried to Lure Him to Auburn

In preparation for their preseason match-up with the New England Patriots tomorrow night, the Philadelphia Eagles have been holding joint practice with the six-time Super Bowl champions this week. Between the two teams, there are nine total former Alabama players, including Mac Jones, Landon Dickerson, Devonta Smith, Christian Barmore, and Jalen Hurts.

While Hurts did attend the Capstone for three seasons, he decided to finish his eligibility with the Oklahoma Sooners. That seemed to be a cut-and-dry decision until this morning when Hurts elaborated on the location of his transfer.

The Eagles’ QB was asked about getting to finally meet the Auburn Heisman winner and he offered a surprising answer.

“[It was] my first time actually meeting him in person. I know in the past, in the midst of trying to find out where I was going to go the second time around [when he was deciding where to transfer]. I know he called me on Gus Malzahn’s behalf,” Hurts said. “And I've also had communication with him. Just from an older athlete, obviously, he's a legendary player, the things he's done in college and when I was growing up, so being able to talk to him, being able to meet him in person for the first time, it was great.”

This statement essentially means that Alabama fans almost saw Jalen Hurts in an Auburn jersey playing for his former team’s most-hated rival.

Still, this isn’t the only time that Hurts has flirted with the blue and orange.

It is worth noting that the featured image at the top of the story is from a bet that Hurts and Auburn legend Charles Barkley had before Hurts’s last Iron Bowl. Since the Tigers won the rivalry game, the Alabama quarterback had to wear an Auburn jersey for a photo. At the end of the video, however, Hurts turns around to show the CFP national championship trophy that the same team won weeks after losing to Auburn. This video can be viewed below:

Before he left the Capstone for the Sooner State, Hurts accumulated 5,626 total passing yards and 48 touchdowns. He finished with a completion percentage of 62.9%. On the ground, the Houston native rushed 381 times for 1,976 yards and 23 touchdowns.

As of now, it seems that Hurts will be the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Sept. 12 for their week one road trip to Atlanta. On the other hand, Auburn’s Cam Newton and Alabama’s Mac Jones are in the middle of a quarterback battle. It is assumed that Newton will overtake Jones as the starter for their season opener against the Dolphins.