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Rainer Sabin | rsabin@al.com
Jalen Hurts made some pointed comments about his situation and sounded off on rumors about a possible transfer.
Jalen Hurts played the role of the aggrieved quarterback on Saturday at Alabama's Media Day.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the night he lost the grip on his role as starter during the national championship victory over Georgia in January, Hurts expressed frustration with his situation and the fact that the university tried to muzzle him as speculation about his status with the team mushroomed.
"They didn't want me to talk for whatever reason," Hurts said. "I get the opportunity to speak now. I've always tried to handle situations like this and handle speaking the best way that I can because at the end of the day I'm representing myself and I'm representing my family back home.
Hurts, who is competing Tua Tagovailoa to retain his position, never mentioned the Hawaiian sophomore during an interview session that lasted less than seven minutes.
But Hurts did say he was shocked by the comments Nick Saban made during SEC Media Days, when the head coach told reporters he was unsure if the junior quarterback, who has gone 26-2 the past two seasons, would be with the team for the opener against Louisville.
"Well, I have no idea," Saban said then. "I expect him to be there."
Hurts was taken aback by that comment.
"I told him in June that I'd be here," Hurts said. "I told him, and I told him in June, that I'd be here. It was never a decision that had to be made in regards to me leaving. That was something that the general media placed on me and I kind of never said it. With that, I told him 'I told you already that I'd be here.' I'm about to graduate in December so why leave? Even though I'm not in a situation in which I think I should leave, I'm here. Why do that when you're only 15 credits, 15 hours away from graduation?"
Hurts acknowledged there was a communication breakdown within the program, in part, because the coaches never solicited his feedback during the spring.
"No one came up to me the whole spring, coaches included, no one asked me how I felt," Hurts said. "No one asked me what was on my mind. No one asked me how I felt about the things that were going on. Nobody asked me what my future held."
Based on his own assumptions, Hurts came to his own conclusion that Saban and his staff weren't "bold enough" to address those topics and wished the whole controversy would disappear altogether.
Quietly, Hurts instead watched as the story about Alabama's quarterback competition grew bigger and bigger -- much to Saban's chagrin.
Even on Saturday, Saban bristled when he was asked about the Hurts-Tagovailoa battle. Hurts, meanwhile, told the reporters in his midst that he wasn't looking over his shoulder or "worried about anybody else."
"This is a situation that is uncontrollable," he later explained. "Coaches can't control this situation. They dictate who plays. But as far as variations to it, they don't control it honestly. This whole spring ever since the game, they kind of wanted to let it play out.
They kind of, I guess, didn't think it was a thing or tried to let it die down like it wasn't something there because it has always been the elephant in the room."
And now Hurts is talking about it, telling his side of a story that has captured the nation's attention.
Rainer Sabin | rsabin@al.com
Alabama QB Jalen Hurts sounds off on transfer speculation, QB competition
Jalen Hurts played the role of the aggrieved quarterback on Saturday at Alabama's Media Day.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the night he lost the grip on his role as starter during the national championship victory over Georgia in January, Hurts expressed frustration with his situation and the fact that the university tried to muzzle him as speculation about his status with the team mushroomed.
"They didn't want me to talk for whatever reason," Hurts said. "I get the opportunity to speak now. I've always tried to handle situations like this and handle speaking the best way that I can because at the end of the day I'm representing myself and I'm representing my family back home.
Hurts, who is competing Tua Tagovailoa to retain his position, never mentioned the Hawaiian sophomore during an interview session that lasted less than seven minutes.
But Hurts did say he was shocked by the comments Nick Saban made during SEC Media Days, when the head coach told reporters he was unsure if the junior quarterback, who has gone 26-2 the past two seasons, would be with the team for the opener against Louisville.
"Well, I have no idea," Saban said then. "I expect him to be there."
Hurts was taken aback by that comment.
"I told him in June that I'd be here," Hurts said. "I told him, and I told him in June, that I'd be here. It was never a decision that had to be made in regards to me leaving. That was something that the general media placed on me and I kind of never said it. With that, I told him 'I told you already that I'd be here.' I'm about to graduate in December so why leave? Even though I'm not in a situation in which I think I should leave, I'm here. Why do that when you're only 15 credits, 15 hours away from graduation?"
Hurts acknowledged there was a communication breakdown within the program, in part, because the coaches never solicited his feedback during the spring.
"No one came up to me the whole spring, coaches included, no one asked me how I felt," Hurts said. "No one asked me what was on my mind. No one asked me how I felt about the things that were going on. Nobody asked me what my future held."
Based on his own assumptions, Hurts came to his own conclusion that Saban and his staff weren't "bold enough" to address those topics and wished the whole controversy would disappear altogether.
Quietly, Hurts instead watched as the story about Alabama's quarterback competition grew bigger and bigger -- much to Saban's chagrin.
Even on Saturday, Saban bristled when he was asked about the Hurts-Tagovailoa battle. Hurts, meanwhile, told the reporters in his midst that he wasn't looking over his shoulder or "worried about anybody else."
"This is a situation that is uncontrollable," he later explained. "Coaches can't control this situation. They dictate who plays. But as far as variations to it, they don't control it honestly. This whole spring ever since the game, they kind of wanted to let it play out.
They kind of, I guess, didn't think it was a thing or tried to let it die down like it wasn't something there because it has always been the elephant in the room."
And now Hurts is talking about it, telling his side of a story that has captured the nation's attention.
Rainer Sabin | rsabin@al.com
Alabama QB Jalen Hurts sounds off on transfer speculation, QB competition
