Which Team Has Better Claim to Jalen Hurts, Alabama or Oklahoma?
Is Jalen Hurts a Sooner or a Bama guy?
There’s a roiling debate on social media about which institution can claim the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback.
It’s become a hot topic since Hurts and the Eagles are playing in this weekend’s NFC title game against the San Francisco 49ers.
One could argue an allegiance to both schools.
On the Alabama side: Hurts played three seasons at Alabama, winning SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors as a freshman and leading the Crimson Tide to the national title game in 2016 and 2017 (Tua Tagovailoa replaced Hurts in the second half of that 2017 title game).
Alabama fans will never forget his off-the-bench performance in the 2018 SEC title game, leading the Crimson Tide to a come-from-behind win to send UA to its fourth straight college playoff. Hurts is ninth on Alabama’s career passing list and fifth on UA’s career touchdown list.
There’s even more evidence Hurts is a ‘Bama guy.’ He’s constantly wearing Alabama gear at Eagles’ press conferences and even reminded a reporter this week that he went to Alabama and doesn’t have just Sooner fans rooting for him.
You can make the argument Hurts is an OU guy, too. In his one season with the Sooners, Hurts passed for 3,851 yards (No. 8 on OU’s single-season list) with 32 touchdowns (No. 11 on single-season list) and rushed for 1,296 yards (13th on single-season list). He did all that and led the Sooners to the college playoff.
Of course, the answer to which school can claim Hurts is easy. Both.
It’s the same with Jameson Williams. He played two seasons with Ohio State before transferring to Alabama for one season. Is he a Buckeye or a part of the Crimson Tide family? Granted, the receiver had way more success at Alabama than Ohio State.
In the age of the transfer portal, this situation will be the norm. Players will leave UA and others will arrive from other schools. There is no reason fans can’t take pride in a player’s performance while at their school and continue to cheer them on as they play elsewhere.
Hurts is different because of what he did at Alabama and what he accomplished at Oklahoma. Either way, Alabama and Oklahoma fans will be rooting for Hurts this weekend and beyond.
