QB Jalen Hurts Announces He's Transferring from Alabama to Another Powerhouse
After losing Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks in back-to-back years, the Oklahoma Sooners will simply reload in 2019 with the incoming transfer of Jalen Hurts.
Hurts announced Wednesday he is headed to Norman after three seasons in Tuscaloosa.
Since he already graduated from Alabama, Hurts will be a grad transfer and will be able to play immediately.
He announced the decision on the The Player’s Tribune.
Alabama Forever !https://t.co/PMDqmrYcHO
— Jalen Hurts (@JalenHurts) January 16, 2019
“Now, I’m an alumnus of the University of Alabama,” Hurts wrote. “Now I’m Bama for LIFE — and that right there will never change! But now it’s also time for me to start a new chapter in my story.
“I’ve decided to take my talents to the University of Oklahoma, where I will continue my development as both a quarterback and as a student.”
Hurts will be tasked with replacing Kyler Murray, who declared for the NFL draft while also having a contract with MLB’s Oakland Athletics.
Interestingly, when Hurts was graduating high school in 2016, he was a candidate to replace Murray at Texas A&M after the latter transferred to Oklahoma.
The Aggies made a strong push to land Hurts, who is from nearby Channelview, Texas, but he elected to go to Alabama, where he led the Crimson Tide to the national championship game as a true freshman.
Hurts wasn’t victorious that time, but the Crimson Tide did win the 2018 championship — although Tua Tagovailoa came on in relief to save the day for Alabama.
There was speculation all summer that Hurts would transfer, but he stuck it out and entered the 2018 season as Alabama’s backup quarterback.
He didn’t start a game all season and threw just eight touchdown passes, but his shining moment came in the SEC championship game in relief of an injured Tagovailoa.
Alabama came back from a 28-14 third quarter deficit with Hurts leading the Tide on two touchdown drives to tie and then win the game.
He alluded to that moment in his post on The Player’s Tribune, but he said that game won’t be the defining moment of his career and there is still more to come.
“One of the things that people always want to talk to me about is last month’s SEC Championship Game,” Hurts wrote. “They come up to me and say that it inspired them, or that they were rooting like crazy for me, or how they had been hoping all season that I would get another chance. They tell me how it was like a MOVIE, or that they’ve gotta make you a 30 for 30 now, you know, things along those lines.
“But I just tell them back — that 30 for 30? You can bet on it. Only not anytime soon. Not yet. Because this story of mine … it’s still just getting started. There are movie moments still to come.”
While Hurts is transferring to Oklahoma, the Sooners’ most experienced quarterback is seeking to leave Norman.
Austin Kendall wants to join the West Virginia Mountaineers as a graduate transfer, but Oklahoma is attempting to block him from being able to play immediately.
Even though Kendall has graduated, like Hurts, since he is trying to transfer to another Big 12 school, Oklahoma has the right to intervene and make Kendall sit out a year before playing.
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