Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts, Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa on Collision Course in Week 7
PHILADELPHIA – In South Florida on Wednesday, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailo was asked about Jalen Hurts. More than 1,000 miles away in South Philly, Philadelphia Eagles Jalen Hurts was being asked about Tagovailoa.
The two quarterbacks have a waist-deep history together from days together at the University of Alabama. Both have taken their games to the NFL and on Sunday night, their respective teams will collide in a primetime matchup of a pair of 5-1 teams at Lincoln Financial Field that could serve as a Super Bowl LVIII preview.
Both quarterbacks wear the No. 1.
“There’s different ways to skin the cat, right?” said Tagovailoa. “Many different ways. He went down a different road than I did to get to where I’m at. And he had to go down a different road to get to where he’s at. …I got a lot of respect for him – who he is as a person who he is as a player and wish him the best of luck as we play him.”
Their history intersected at the University of Alabama when Jalen Hurts was benched at halftime of the national championship game in early 2018, yielding to freshman Tua Tagovailoa, who sparked a 26-23 overtime conquest of the University of Georgia.
The pair took to social media afterward, with Tagovailoa coming to Hurts’ defense in a tweet days after leading the title win.
“Tired of people not appreciating the fact that if this man led us to the National Championship. And for all the fans that are against Jalen, you against me too. You either WITH US or AGAINST US. Love you 2,” Tagovailoa tweeted, referring to Hurts’ college uniform No. 2.
Hurts tweeted back: “Love You Too Lil Bro! Proud Of You!”
Months later, in the SEC title game, in late 2018, Hurts replaced an injured Tagovailoa and led a comeback against Georgia to give the Crimson Tide the conference title and launch them into the national title game.
“It’s been great to see the things he’s been able to do over his career,” said Hurts on Wednesday. “Hopefully, hoping for continued success.”
Hurts was the MVP runner-up as Tagovailao battled injury, something that has plagued him since beginning his career as the fifth overall pick in 2020. Hurts was a second-round pick (No. 53) a year later.
Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts, once teammates at the University of Alabama, will collide in the NFL on Sunday night.
USA TODAY
Asked how his time at Alabama and the adversity he faced there helped him, Hurts said: “It’s a compound effect of not just those times at Alabama, but my whole career thus far of a number of different experiences.
"And so, always an opportunity to learn from that. I think I’ve just grown in wisdom, and just kind of grown as a person throughout my whole entire career.”
That is why a loss last week against the New York Jets, the Eagles’ first of the season after racing to a 5-0 start, and Hurts tossing three interceptions, only one of which was really his fault, shouldn’t set off alarm bells that either he or the team are about to fall off a cliff anytime soon.
“Yeah, I’d say throughout my whole career, it’s built upon different experiences, and experience is the biggest teacher,” said Hurts. “So, whether it’s the experience last week, or two weeks ago, or two years ago, or whatever it was, it’s just always learning and growing to be a better player and person."
Of course, both quarterbacks insisted this game didn’t mean any more than any others.
“I think in competition mode, it’s one of those things where I know where he’s at with his play, he knows where I’m at with my play,” said Tagovailoa. “We’ll probably see each other before the game to wish each other luck, but at the end of the day, we’re both trying to help our teams win.”
Added Hurts: "I’m just going to go out there and try to play our best game."
Head coach Nick Siranni lent his perspective.
"I do know that there's so many of those scenarios in the NFL that happen; ‘Hey, I'm going back to Buffalo, New York.’ Great. Well, is it motivating? Is it distracting you?" he said. "Eliminate it. Eliminate that thought process. Is it motivating you? Shoot, let's use anything we can to motivate us even more so than what we already are."
All eyes, though, at least in Philly, will be on Hurts as he tries to rebound from last week's horrific loss.
"Jalen is just going to look at it as another opportunity to go out and play, but seeing him on the other side especially after – they won a national championship together – but first half you was in, second half you get benched and Tua won the game for you," said Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham.
"You know (Hurts) is a great quarterback and I’m sure he’s got great respect for him but he’s definitely going to be trying to go out there and do his best."
