Opinion: Which school gets to ‘claim’ Jalen Hurts?

January 8, 2018 created ripples across the entirety of college football. When Nick Saban benched his starting quarterback for a true freshman at halftime in the National Championship Game, people took notice.

Jalen Hurts, who is now preparing to make his Super Bowl debut with the Philadelphia Eagles as their starter, was that quarterback who Saban benched.

So how did a guy who was benched in a National Championship Game make it to the Super Bowl?

Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma is how.

Hurts was a four-star prospect coming out of high school when he committed to Alabama, quickly becoming the starting quarterback as a true freshman in 2016. Hurts was looking like a star, winning SEC Offensive Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year awards. The young quarterback even led his team to the 2016 College Football Playoff but lost against Clemson in the championship.

Hurts was still the starting quarterback for his sophomore year, leading the Crimson Tide to an 11-1 regular season record and another CFP berth. In the CFP semifinals that year against Clemson, Hurts was named the MVP of the game.

But that’s when Tua Tagovailoa came into the picture.

Tagovailoa replaced Hurts in the National Championship Game at halftime after Hurts only completed three passes in the first half of the game. Alabama came back to win because of the play of Tagovailoa, who threw three touchdown passes.

Hurts did not transfer after that season and had to be second fiddle, sitting on the bench behind Tagovailoa for the 2018 campaign. That was until the 2018 SEC Championship Game, when Hurts came in off the bench after an injury to Tagovailoa. Hurts led the Crimson Tide to a comeback victory over Georgia to cement a 13-0 season and Alabama’s fifth straight CFP. Despite his stellar performance, Tagovailoa came back for the CFP and Hurts again had to sit on the bench and watch.

Hurts’ career seemed over. In the two National Championship Games he started, Hurts played poorly on the biggest stage. With his options dwindling, Hurts entered the transfer portal after graduating from Alabama. Nick Saban recently had an interview where he said Hurts was considering the likes of Maryland and Miami as his transfer destination, but Saban gave him advice. Saban told him to go to Oklahoma because “they have the best coach to develop you.” That coach is current USC head coach Lincoln Riley, when he was still at Oklahoma.

After his tumultuous career at Alabama, Hurts transferred to Oklahoma and immediately made an impact, leading the Sooners to a 12-1 regular season record and a CFP berth. That season, Hurts had career highs in passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Although his team lost in the CFP semifinals, Hurts finished second in the Heisman Trophy race behind Joe Burrow, who arguably had the greatest college football season performance ever.

So which school gets to claim Hurts as their product? Is it the school who he played with for three seasons but benched him? Or is it the school that rejuvenated his career, even though he only played one year with them?

There is an easy answer to that question: Oklahoma.

Nick Saban gave Hurts the advice to go to Lincoln Riley because he knew Riley could make Hurts into a better passer, which is exactly what happened. Hurts could have graduated from Alabama and tried to enter the NFL draft, but what NFL team wants to invest significant draft capital into a quarterback who was benched on the biggest stage and played a year as a backup?

Hurts would have received some NFL interest, but he was not worth the second round pick that Philadelphia eventually used on him after his time at Alabama. And he would certainly not be the quarterback who recently finished second in MVP voting without Riley’s coaching.

While Hurts had a long career with Alabama, throwing for 5,626 yards over three years, the reason he is in the Super Bowl, and even a starter in the NFL, is because of Oklahoma and Lincoln Riley.

Nick Saban said it himself. Hurts needed to go to Oklahoma and needed Lincoln Riley to develop him. Riley finished Hurts’ development and made him into the quarterback millions of fans will see this upcoming Sunday.

Fans of both schools, and the schools themselves, will try to claim Hurts as their own. They will continue to do so until the end of time. Ohio State fans do it with Joe Burrow. But there is only one answer as to who made the Eagles quarterback into an MVP candidate.

Oklahoma, or more accurately Lincoln Riley, is the one who gets to claim Jalen Hurts.