Drew Kerekes

When it happened, I asked myself, “What did it matter whether or not they were forced to bring Jalen Hurts into the game?”

Alabama and Georgia were battling in Atlanta for the second time in less than a year, this time with an SEC championship on the line. Having tried to gut through one ankle injury, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a second ankle injury on a play where his own offensive lineman accidentally stepped on his other ankle while trying to make a block. The sophomore sensation was pulled late in the contest with Alabama trailing, and Hurts, the backup, was inserted.

In terms of Alabama’s playoff prospects, it likely didn’t matter. If the Crimson Tide lost, it would have at least played the Bulldogs close, and when the College Football Playoff committee moved Missouri into its top 25 the Tuesday before, that seemed to me an obvious signal that a close loss by Alabama wouldn’t eliminate it from a playoff berth. Whether it was the BCS or the CFP, both systems always seemed to give Alabama the benefit of the doubt — and rightly so, as it usually turned out — in these situations. 

So the playoff field would be a one-loss Georgia, an undefeated Clemson, an undefeated Notre Dame and a one-loss Alabama, probably not in that order, but likely that combination of teams. At this point, Alabama was just hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Hurts like it did in January with Tagovailoa against the same team.

By the end of regulation, when Alabama batted down a Hail Mary pass attempt by Georgia in the end zone, the sports world had just witnessed one of the best feel-good stories in a long time. Hurts, in relief of Tagovailoa following the latter’s worst game of the season, went 7 of 9 for 82 yards and a touchdown through the air and also ran five times for 28 yards and for the game-winning touchdown in the contest’s waning minutes. Georgia lost to Alabama and its backup quarterback again, 35-28.

Most people following college football probably know Hurts’ story, but just in case: Last January, in the national title game, Alabama faced a 13-0 halftime deficit in which Hurts went just 3-for-8 in passing for 21 yards. His development as a quarterback had stalled out, and he was barely completely forward passes at that point. He was pulled for Tagovailoa in the second half, who led his team back to a 26-23 overtime victory and a national championship.

The Alabama spring training offered an “open competition” at quarterback, but after the championship game, the writing was pretty much on the wall. Tagovailoa would start, putting Hurts’ future at Alabama into question. In some ways, Hurts was a victim of circumstance. He never should have had to start as a freshman in 2016, but Alabama’s recruiting going back several years had failed to find an heir apparent to A.J. McCarron. Consider the following:

•In 2014, the school had to rely on the surprising emergence of Blake Sims at quarterback, who helped lead the Tide to an SEC title and a playoff berth. Sims had been recruited as a quarterback but had also played running back during his time at Alabama. He was also a fifth-year senior that season, so he had plenty of time to develop at his own pace.

•In 2015, Alabama started Jacob Coker, a Florida State transfer, at quarterback. Coker was also a senior, and Alabama won the SEC and national championship that year. 

 Contrast those upperclassmen stepping in to start with Hurts, who was thrust into the starting role as a true freshman because he was legitimately the best option on campus. He was never given the time to develop as an underclassmen at his own pace. There was no time to be patient with him, because Alabama was trying to win championships.

Two years later, he was the backup, and I’m sure he heard plenty of chatter about how he would or should transfer. He chose not to. Not only that, but with the option of playing in up to four games and still being able to redshirt and retain a year of eligibility before graduating this month and having transfer options available, Hurts decided to play the year with no redshirt rule in mind. I’m assuming he did that so as not to make it look like he was getting some sort of preferential treatment. 

Back in the fall I wrote a piece about some comments Hurts made to the media that I thought were ill-advised and best kept behind closed doors. It never appeared to bother Saban all that much, as he was very protective of Hurts when asked about him, which even led to a “quit asking!” blowup in a postgame interview following the season opener against Louisville.

No one with any sense would have blamed Hurts for leaving prior to the start of fall camp. People who transfer aren’t bad people. Sometimes it works out, too, as Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray began his college career at Texas A&M before transferring to Oklahoma. Hurts decided to stay despite what had to be a blow to his pride in being beaten out for a position he held for two seasons. The thing is, the universe tends to reward people like that, and I always wondered in the back of my mind whether Hurts would play some sort of important role in Alabama’s season due to him staying.

Not only did Hurts beat the team that gave him trouble 11 months prior, but he did it making throws that he would never have made 11 months ago. His decision to stay at Alabama apparently paid off in terms of simple development, because the improvement displayed against Georgia the first time versus the second time was night and day. 

More than anything, though, people, even those who hate Alabama or are simply tired of the Crimson Tide, liked Hurts’ story. The truth of the matter — and this is meant as no disrespect to anyone else on Alabama’s roster — but had Hurts transferred, it’s unlikely to me that Alabama comes back and beats Georgia on Dec. 1. Tagovailoa had been playing the entire game hurt, and he suddenly couldn’t play anymore, and he wasn’t nearly effective enough to give his team the cushion it usually has when Hurts comes into games. Hurts had to win it, and he did.

It’s still possible that, after Hurts graduates this month, he could choose to leave following the season as a graduate transfer. Nothing has been announced in that regard. No matter what happens, though, Hurts has likely forever enshrined himself in Crimson Tide lore, not simply for the physical feats he performed to help lead his team to an SEC title, but for what he endured as a competitor to get to the place where he could do that. 

Good for him, because he earned it, and everybody deserves what they’ve earned.

Drew Kerekes is the sports editor of the Meridian Star. He can be reached at dkerekes@themeridianstar.com.