🏈 Jalen Hurts

PhillyGirl

PhillyGirl

Member
Jalen had a weird year.

He went from that first play versus USC where everyone groaned [edit: forgot he was QB2 to start the season!] .. to a few straight games of clear success, looking like a dark horse for the Heisman .. to making freshman mistakes and struggling a bit .. growing pains .. etc. but still winning and succeeding (with a fantastic supporting cast, of course).

He ended up winning SEC Offensive Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year, and SEC Newcomer of the Year .. Was a Freshman All-American, with first team SEC honors .. Is a finalist for the Manning Award, was a finalist for the Earl Campbell Award, was a semifinalist for Walter Camp POY and the Davey O'Brien Award .. Received numerous player of the week accolades. He set the Alabama single season record for TDs.

Versus Clemson, he definitely had some issues. He seemed to improve as the game when on. But man, when the game was on the line, he stepped up and delivered a huge TD. Unfortunately, it was just a bit too quick.

He got a lot of flack by some users this season (myself included at times), but here was a true freshman QB who led us to 14-0 .. Who stepped into the biggest possible stage, starting at QB for the #1 team in the country, for BAMA nonetheless, against a veteran Heisman-calibre QB and a hungry, angry #2 team out for revenge .. and he looked downright Aaron Rodgers-like a few times (and also like a freshman QB a lot of times). The pressure was freakin' intense yet he still delivered on that crucial drive. I was impressed as hell.

He definitely has some growing to do. Can't deny that. But he has looked like a grizzled vet at times this season, with unmatched maturity and stoicism (downright Vulcan-esque at times, really).

He also just seems like a class act and a PLAYER on and off the field. Constantly watching tapes and studying the game .. Lawd. I particularly liked his comment a few days ago: "You never want to be on this end of it but today we are... My sophomore season starts tomorrow." I have to think he'd say that last bit whether they won or not. He is clearly a Saban player.

Hurts has a TON of potential and I can't wait to see the potential QB battle this year, especially with Sark at the helm.

So, that's my little ode to our QB of 2016. It was an odyssey for sure. Let's see if he can get better in 2017 and what Tua has to offer. RTR.
 
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Huts has been quite remarkable. He's made some uncanny plays & typical true freshman mistakes. I still cannot get over that he is TRUE freshman! An 18 year old. His intangibles are off the charts. I have real confidence in him that he can/will improve because of those intangibles & the coaching staff.

Those who want to just throw him under the bus for his long ball seem to fail to get that has sooo much to do with experience. From footwork, to pocket presence, to speed of the game, you just cannot replace experience at the QB position for those things. You just can't.
 
Crimson&WhiteGecko said:
Huts has been quite remarkable. He's made some uncanny plays & typical true freshman mistakes. I still cannot get over that he is TRUE freshman! An 18 year old. His intangibles are off the charts. I have real confidence in him that he can/will improve because of those intangibles & the coaching staff.

Those who want to just throw him under the bus for his long ball seem to fail to get that has sooo much to do with experience. From footwork, to pocket presence, to speed of the game, you just cannot replace experience at the QB position for those things. You just can't.
Click to expand...

Seriously, I feel like people somehow forget that he was basically still a kid when he took over the reigns for this team. Insane. Yet Saban and co. trusted him enough to give him the keys to that flashy car, and he drove it like a goddamn pro.

He is a player who WANTS to learn, and improve, and push himself as hard as he can. He just got a year of experience at the highest possible level and he still has nowhere to go but up!
 
He absolutely struggled some down the stretch but also had some good moments throwing down the field earlier in the year. As mentioned previously... Imagine if AJ or GMAC were forced into action as a true freshman... No chance they would have been able to make plays or lead the way Hurts did. The kid is special. Tua, his new backup, is the same way. Future is very bright.

I have a great feeling that Sarkisian is going to work his ass off this off season. He's got a lot to prove and tons of motivation. He and Hurts will be great together next year.
 
he can run but his passing skills, field vision, ability to throw into windows, and confidence in his throwing game are sub par and I believe they didn't get any better from game 1 to the championship game. In fact he regressed through the year. The resurgence of Bo the last two games was the reason we scored enough. The Defense was so good this year we won despite a complete lack of a competent passing game. The completion rate on passes over 15 yards was disgusting. The QB competition should be good. I like Hurts, and can appreciate where he got the team, I hope somehow his passing game can catch up to his running game, cause he would be unstoppable
 
Greg McElroy was at Alabama three years before he took over in 2009.
AJ McCarron was at Alabama three years before he took over in 2011.
Blake Sims was at Alabama four years before he took over in 2014.
Jake Coker was at Alabama two years before he took over in 2015 (and at Florida two years before that).

Jalen Hurts was on campus for about eight months and not only became the starting QB but shattered every single freshman passing record at Alabama, led the team to a 14-0 regular season record, won the SEC Championship and in probably the most pressure packed moment of his entire life he delivered in HUGE fashion.

He struggled at times, 100% we all know this, he looked like a true freshman at times. Those other four players I mentioned all looked and made Freshman like mistakes despite all being there for at least three years (for three of them and two for Coker). Some people do not have any patience nor logic when it comes to this whole thing.

Jalen should have been an All American the minute he stepped foot on the field (much of that probably comes from the buzz that "insides" created) and if it was up to some of these armchair QBs he would have been benched halfway through the season. Its the cost of success. Its never good enough. Blake Sims "couldnt hit a deep ball" and then proceeded to shatter every passing record in the book. Coker "couldnt hit a deep ball" and ended up coming close to those records. Now Jalen "cant throw down field", "doesnt see the whole field," blah blah blah. Guess what hes going to end up doing?
 
Jalen has a problem with his decision making process as of today. I am not sure if he lacks the confidence to make it happen or whether his Process is running at the highest level already. Everyone ASSUMES a player will get better with more practice and games and that may not be the case. I see a yellow caution light flashing as of today. Nick and staff gave him game after game in the middle of the season to practice the passing game before Bama got to the better teams. He didn't get better or not much better. Hell he doesn't even set his feet on most throws and that is on Nick and the QB coach. The Clemson defense ran to the spot on the field where our receivers run their routes as soon as the ball was snapped on passing downs. JMO
 
Birdman37 said:
Greg McElroy was at Alabama three years before he took over in 2009.
AJ McCarron was at Alabama three years before he took over in 2011.
Blake Sims was at Alabama four years before he took over in 2014.
Jake Coker was at Alabama two years before he took over in 2015 (and at Florida two years before that).

Jalen Hurts was on campus for about eight months and not only became the starting QB but shattered every single freshman passing record at Alabama, led the team to a 14-0 regular season record, won the SEC Championship and in probably the most pressure packed moment of his entire life he delivered in HUGE fashion.

He struggled at times, 100% we all know this, he looked like a true freshman at times. Those other four players I mentioned all looked and made Freshman like mistakes despite all being there for at least three years (for three of them and two for Coker). Some people do not have any patience nor logic when it comes to this whole thing.

Jalen should have been an All American the minute he stepped foot on the field (much of that probably comes from the buzz that "insides" created) and if it was up to some of these armchair QBs he would have been benched halfway through the season. Its the cost of success. Its never good enough. Blake Sims "couldnt hit a deep ball" and then proceeded to shatter every passing record in the book. Coker "couldnt hit a deep ball" and ended up coming close to those records. Now Jalen "cant throw down field", "doesnt see the whole field," blah blah blah. Guess what hes going to end up doing?
Click to expand...

OK, I see your points, but let's be clear about the facts. While GMac took over as starter AFTER three years, one of those years was a redshirt. AJ took over as starter TO START his third season, he was there for TWO years before he took over and one of those was a redshirt. When it comes to Blake Simms, to be fair, he was playing more as a RB than as a QB his first two years. Lastly, Coker was only at Alabama ONE year BEFORE he took over in 2015.

When it comes to Jalen, there is no question that he played well above his age and experience and almost sealed the ultimate deal. He deserves great credit for that. However, for those of us that noticed a bit of a regression during the second half of the season, opposing defenses had more film to study and his tendencies and weaknesses became much more apparent. Opposing defenses were able to exploit those weaknesses which include; poor field vision (he frequently never even saw open receivers), lack of accuracy on deeper passes, a tendency to get spooked in the pocket, and a lack of touch on tougher passes.

He is still young and he has lots of growing and improving to do. BUT, I believe we are going to see a real QB competition next year as Tua will be given every opportunity to showcase his talent and that young man can really throw!
 
'65 Cobra said:
OK, I see your points, but let's be clear about the facts. While GMac took over as starter AFTER three years, one of those years was a redshirt. AJ took over as starter TO START his third season, he was there for TWO years before he took over and one of those was a redshirt. When it comes to Blake Simms, to be fair, he was playing more as a RB than as a QB his first two years. Lastly, Coker was only at Alabama ONE year BEFORE he took over in 2015.

When it comes to Jalen, there is no question that he played well above his age and experience and almost sealed the ultimate deal. He deserves great credit for that. However, for those of us that noticed a bit of a regression during the second half of the season, opposing defenses had more film to study and his tendencies and weaknesses became much more apparent. Opposing defenses were able to exploit those weaknesses which include; poor field vision (he frequently never even saw open receivers), lack of accuracy on deeper passes, a tendency to get spooked in the pocket, and a lack of touch on tougher passes.

He is still young and he has lots of growing and improving to do. BUT, I believe we are going to see a real QB competition next year as Tua will be given every opportunity to showcase his talent and that young man can really throw!
Click to expand...

I dont understand your point on the redshirting deal? They were still there trying to learn the offense, get better, etc. and when I meant "there three years" I meant took over in year three, tho I guess G-Mac took over in year four as a redshirt junior (but I didnt he redshirted).
 
The kid came right out of high school and started for one of the top programs in the country. That's a huge accomplishment alone. He has a lot of work to do with his passing, reads and footwork in the passing game. With that being said, we should see improvement between this year and next year.
 
My opinion only, though I will add that I've coached all sorts of sports for longer than I care to admit. By the end of this season, our quarterback was completely, mentally exhausted. That's what I read into his performance. No one in the world could have helped him. He was doing all that he could possibly do. And guess what? He'll be able to take the grind better next season.

After the game, he said next season starts right now. He planned to watch film the next day, for crying out loud. What I would tell him to do is take a week or two, maybe more, away from the gym, away from the game, away from the field, and away from the coaches. Go to class. Be a college student for a little while. He'll be better for it in the long run. Guaranteed.

Imagine him being one of you former athletes or your son (both to his dad). You can be proud of that young man.
 
Jalen hit a wall. Period. They ALL do it, you can look back at every QB who has played for Bama just under Saban and find a 2-3 game skid when they hit a wall. It just came at a time when we played 3 solid defensive teams.

He will win a national championship at Alabama, he will own nearly all of the records for QBs at Alabama and we will remember him for a very long time.
 

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