Did Jalen hurts win a national championship? Eagles QB's Alabama career explored

Jalen Hurts has primed himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL over the last couple of years. The Philadelphia Eagles signal-caller has made a giant stride in the franchise since he was selected as a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Houston-born player has shown his superb talent in the quarterback position right from his college days. Hurts played his college football career with two reputable programs, starting at Alabama in 2016 before leaving to play his senior season at Oklahoma in 2019.

His college career was noteworthy as he won the College Football Playoffs National Championship in 2017 with the Crimson Tide. The championship win was memorable for Jalen Hurts at Alabama but also led to the scenario that made him exit the program.

The 2017 CFP National Championship game

Jalen Hurts and Nick Saban

Jalen Hurts notably became Alabama’s starting quarterback in his freshman season after displacing Blake Barnett following the first game of the 2016 season. He astonishingly led the Crimson Tide to the national championship game that season but eventually lost out to Clemson.

Alabama would seek redemption in the following season when they made it to the national championship game again, with Hurts leading the offense. This time, they were billed to play against Georgia, led by former Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator, Kirby Smart.

As expected, Hurts started the game for the Crimson Tide at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. However, his performance was underwhelming in the game, and this led to him being replaced by Tua Tagovailoa at halftime, with Georgia leading the game 13-0.

Tagovailoa led the Crimson Tide to a dramatic 26-23 victory in overtime. This got Tagovailoa the starting berth for the following season, with Hurts falling behind in the pecking order. Nonetheless, Jalen Hurts made appearances in all Alabama games in 2018.

Jalen Hurts’ tenure at Oklahoma

Following the conclusion of the 2018 season, Jalen Hurts left Alabama to play his senior season at Oklahoma. This gave him the opportunity to play and develop under Lincoln Riley.

Hurts was pivotal in guiding Oklahoma to a Big 12 Championship and securing a place in the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, the Sooners’ season concluded with a 63–28 defeat to LSU in the 2019 Peach Bowl, missing out on the CFP championship game.

He had an impressive season with the Sooners, amassing 3,851 passing yards and touchdowns with eight interceptions. He also contributed significantly on the ground, rushing for 1,298 yards and scoring 20 rushing touchdowns. Notably, he finished behind Joe Burrow in the Heisman Trophy voting that season.