Jalen Hurts: When and Where?
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts has been projected to go anywhere from the second round to the fourth round in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Hurts was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year as a true freshman and was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year as a senior.
In between, he had five different quarterback coaches and five different offensive coordinators, turned in several uneven performances at Alabama, lost his starting job, saved his team coming off the bench with a fourth-quarter rally, transferred to Oklahoma and finished second in the 2019 Heisman Trophy voting.
Some NFL teams may view Hurts as a long-term backup quarterback, while others probably project him as a multi-tool player with a varied skill set, and yet others seem confident he may have what it takes to be a starter.
After producing the first pick in the draft in both 2018 and 2019, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley is hoping Hurts goes soon as the 2020 NFL Draft resumes Friday night.
“I’ve kinda fielded calls from just about every type of different offense that you can see in the NFL,” Riley said this week. “I mean, I think the interesting thing is that not many people crossed him off the list. I think he’s intriguing to a lot of different people, but I think certainly, the number one thing for him and my number one hope is that he can just get in a situation where he can have some continuity. I think that’s the most important thing for him.
“I think he could potentially be very successful in a number of different offenses. There are certainly some right now that are moving the quarterback around, taking advantage of different athletic skill sets. Kinda similar to what the Ravens have done for Lamar (Jackson), that I think naturally makes sense. I think anybody that takes Jalen is gonna be excited about where his throwing ability is headed and also obviously excited about what he brings to the table from an athletic standpoint as well.”
To get the latest OU posts as they happen, join the SI Sooners Community by clicking “Follow” at the top right corner of the page (mobile users can click the notifications bell icon), and follow SI Sooners on Twitter @All_Sooners.
