Where did Jalen Hurts play college football? Eagles QB starred for Alabama, Oklahoma
For the second time in the past three seasons, Jalen Hurts will be competing in the Super Bowl, putting him just 60 minutes away from his sport’s ultimate prize.
The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback has emerged as a legitimate NFL star while leading one of the league’s best teams over the past few years. In his five professional seasons, the Houston native is a two-time Pro Bowler and was a second-team All-Pro in 2022.
During that All-Pro season, he helped guide the Eagles to Super Bowl 57, where they fell painfully short against the Kansas City Chiefs. Two years later, Patrick Mahomes and Co. yet again stand in his way, with Hurts and his team hoping for a different result this time around.
Hurts arrived with the Eagles in 2020 after an eventful college career, one in which he suited up and excelled for two of the sport’s most historically accomplished programs.
With a career-defining achievement potentially on the way, here’s a closer look at Jalen Hurts’ college football career, including where he played and his stats:
Where did Jalen Hurts play college football?
While many NFL stars are closely associated with just a single school, Hurts has two.
The Eagles star began his college career at Alabama, where he played his first three seasons, before transferring to Oklahoma, where he spent his senior season in 2019.
A four-star recruit coming out of high school, Hurts signed with Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. He made an immediate impact, becoming the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Alabama since 1984, a feat he reached in a 38-10 win against Western Kentucky.
With that performance, he remained the Tide’s starter for the rest of the season, supplanting Blake Barnett and leading Alabama to an undefeated regular season, an SEC championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff national championship game while winning SEC offensive player of the year and SEC freshman of the year honors.
In the national title game, his team fell to Clemson in a 35-31 thriller, with Hurts completing just 13 of his 31 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown while adding 63 rushing yards and another score.
The following season, he again guided the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff, where it advanced to the title game. In that championship matchup against Georgia, though, Hurts’ career reached a turning point. With his team trailing the Bulldogs 13-0 at halftime and with Hurts struggling passing — he completed only three of his eight throws for 21 yards — Saban made a switch at quarterback, putting freshman Tua Tagovailoa into the game and sending Hurts to the bench. Tagovailoa led Alabama to a 26-23 overtime victory, which included a game-winning 41-yard touchdown pass to end the game.
After his national championship heroics, Tagovailoa was the Crimson Tide’s starter for the 2018 season, with Hurts still receiving snaps but serving in a backup role and coming in the game for certain packages. In a bit of a reversal from the previous season, Hurts relieved an injured Tagovailoa in the SEC championship game, also against Georgia, and led Alabama to a 35-28 victory in a game they trailed by seven at the time of Tagovailoa’s injury in the fourth quarter.
With Tagovailoa slated to return as the Alabama starter, Hurts, who earned his bachelor’s degree in December 2018, entered the transfer portal. After considering Miami and Maryland, both of which had former Alabama assistants as either the offensive coordinator or head coach, Hurts signed with Oklahoma. Hurts has said the decision was prompted in part by advice from Saban, who told him to go to the school that had the best players around him.
“To my Bama family, once again, THANK YOU — for everything,” Hurts wrote in a piece on The Players’ Tribune announcing his move to Oklahoma. “It’s been a great three years. I’ll love you until the end of time!”
Hurts made the most of his first and only season at Oklahoma, where he replaced outgoing Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray. Under the tutelage of coach Lincoln Riley, Hurts improved significantly as a passer, completing close to 70% of his passes for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff, where they were blown out by eventual national champion LSU in the semifinals, and finished second in Heisman Trophy voting.
Though he didn’t finish his career there, Hurts is still highly regarded among Alabama fans. Oklahoma fans, too, understandably have fond memories of him. When Hurts is asked whether there’s a school he identifies more closely with, he often expresses reverence for both.
“The beautiful thing about both of those schools is I have so much love for both of them,” Hurts said on “The Dan Patrick Show” in 2021. “I made great memories at both universities. I have a lot of respect for both coaches and what they do and what they stand for, so I’ve got to say, I’ve got the best of both worlds.”
Hurts, who in previous seasons introduced himself as having come from Channelview High School in Houston, paid homage to both Alabama and Oklahoma on "Sunday Night Football" vs. the Rams on Nov. 24, 2024, saying in his player introduction, "Roll Sooners."
Similarly, Alabama and Oklahoma's official Twitter accounts released videos supporting Hurts the last time he led the Eagles to this stage, ahead of Super Bowl 57. The two accounts replied to each other's posts with "Roll Sooner!" and "Boomer Tide!" (mixing the famed college cries of "Roll Tide" at Alabama and "Boomer Sooner" at Oklahoma):
Jalen Hurts college stats
Here’s a look at Hurts’ stats in his four college seasons, divided up between his three seasons at Alabama and his final season at Oklahoma:
- Alabama: 445 of 706 passing (63%), 5,626 yards, 48 touchdowns, 12 interceptions; 381 rushing attempts, 1,976 yards, 23 touchdowns
- Oklahoma: 237 of 340 passing (69.7%), 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns, eight interceptions; 233 rushing attempts, 1,298 yards, 20 touchdowns
Jalen Hurts NFL Draft
Following his stellar season at Oklahoma, Hurts was selected by the Eagles in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft, with the No. 53 overall pick.
At the time Hurts was drafted, the Eagles still had Carson Wentz at quarterback, less than three years removed from a season in which he was the NFL MVP front-runner before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in December 2017. By the end of Hurts’ rookie season, though, he was Philadelphia’s starter and the following offseason, Wentz was traded to the Indianapolis Colts.