Jalen Hurts Speaks On Growing Up In Football, Recruitment to Alabama

Alabama alumnus and current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts sat down for an hour-long interview on Youtube's 'The Roomates' , discussing his path leading him to the NFL and more.

Hurts described growing up in a football family with his father, head football coach at his alma mater Channelview High School, fostering a culture of competition between his two sons.

"We were kind of thrown into unique situations," Hurts said, "being that the fieldhouse was kind of like our daycare."

Despite being the starting quarterback for College Football Playoff runs at two historic programs, he said he never really chose to be the signal-caller coming up through middle and high school. However, his father had other plans.

"My dad kind of made me," Hurts said.

"Because, with him as the head coach of the varsity team at the high school, he was like, 'nobody else in your class can do what you do.'"

But the decision panned out when, as a 16-year-old, Hurts got a call from Nick Saban in the middle of the school day with a full scholarship to Alabama.

As an early enrollee days before the CFP national championship game against Clemson in 2016, he said his task was to play on Alabama's scout team and mimic the Tigers' Deshaun Watson.

"We do our physical, I move into my dorm and all that, and then we go to practice. We were straight thrown into that fire."

Roughly a month removed from playing Texas high school football, Hurts was on the field running plays against a historic 2015-2016 Alabama defense.

"That's where I kind of gained the mindset of 'I'm gonna earn my respect by what I do on the field.'"

His career with the Crimson Tide included SEC Freshman and Offensive Player of the Year honors as well as the 2017 national title before transferring to Oklahoma for his senior season. Hurts appeared in 52 games with Alabama, totaling 48 touchdowns through the air, 23 rushing scores and over 7,600 all-purpose yards.

As a senior in 2019, he led the Sooners to a 12-2 record and secured Oklahoma its 13th Big 12 title in program history. Hurts' season ended with a loss in the CFP Semifinal to the eventual undefeated national champion LSU Tigers in the Peach Bowl.

He was taken No. 53 overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2020 NFL Draft and took over the starting duties in 2021. He has 19 professional starts and holds a 9-10 record across his first two seasons, but improved dramatically in year two with the addition of former Bama teammate DeVonta Smith to the Philadelphia offense.

Find the full interview from The Roomates on Youtube below:

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