Is Jalen Hurts the Best Quarterback In This Class?

A Brief Background

Jalen Hurts was a four-star recruit out of Channelview, Texas before he committed to Alabama as apart of their 2016 class. As a true freshman, Hurts won the starting job in week two of the 2016-17 season over Blake Barnett. Hurts took the college world by absolute storm, he broke school records for rushing yards and total touchdowns. To cap off the year, Hurts was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year. Despite helping lead Alabama to a perfect record, the Tide lost to Clemson in the National Championship, which was a bitter end to Hurts’ amazing freshman season.

The downfall to Hurts’ Alabama career started with the commitment of five-star recruit Tua Tagovailoa. Despite this, Hurts remained the starter for the Crimson Tide. He led Alabama to a 13-1 record and their third straight National Championship appearance against the Georgia Bulldogs. Due to his poor play and Alabama’s deficit, he was benched in favor of Tagovailoa, who then went on to win the game for Alabama.

After a year on the bench for Alabama, Hurts chose to transfer. In hopes of finding a way to the NFL, he chose Oklahoma. The Sooners had just produced back to back Heisman winners and number one overall picks. Their opening at QB left Hurts with a dream scenario that he gladly entered. Now their starter, could history repeat itself? Will Jalen Hurts enter the NFL draft as the best quarterback of this class?

The Rest of the QB Class

If Jalen Hurts wants to be the best quarterback in this class, he’s going to have to outplay some stiff competition. Top prospect Tua Tagovailoa, his former teammate, is pegged as the best quarterback in this upcoming draft (assuming he declares.) He’ll also have to battle out last years top prospect Justin Herbert, who decided to stay one more year. There’s also Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, who has been insanely impressive in his two years with the Bulldogs. While all the previously mentioned are first-round prospects, Hurts is not.

Jalen will have to work very hard to beat out all these guys. However, against all odds, Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield did it. Neither of the two was the top QB on the board until shortly before their respective drafts. While Tua, Herbet and Fromm are all amazing players, Hurts can really show us why he is the best in the class. The Big 12 is an offensive friendly conference which can help Hurts get comfortable in his new system. In his first game, Hurts balled out for 332 passing yards, 176 rushing yards and 6 total touchdowns against a Houston defense that is no joke. If Hurts can play at this level consistently all year, he could very much make a case for the number one pick come draft day.

Conclusion

If the Oklahoma affect reigns true, we could see Jalen Hurts be the first name called on draft day. A shifty dual-threat, Hurts has all the tools for NFL success. His day-one success is a good sign for the Sooner signal-caller. If his competition slows down, Hurts can easily speed up in the fast-paced Big 12. He can prove to the whole college world that he shouldn’t have ever been benched to a quarterback that he’ll certainly be fighting with for Heisman honors this season. However, disappointing performances and an inability to win in the National Championship could prevent his NFL dream. Jalen Hurts absolutely has all the tools to be the best quarterback in this class. He is quite possibly the most intriguing player to watch this season.

We will have to wait and see whether or not he can become the third straight Sooner QB to win Heisman and be drafted first overall.

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