OT: As expected, Jalen Hurts is transferring away from Alabama
I have a hard time thinking classy thoughts about any Alabama player, since I want them all to lose, but Hurts handled his situation as well as one could imagine. I wish him well.
Specifically, I wish him well somewhere that doesn't affect us. I could honestly see Penn State making a run at him, he'd play well in McSorley's role. Hopefully Frames isn't smart enough to think of this.
January 9th, 2019 at 1:35 PM ^
I guess Tua's dad didn't kill him after the game, if Hurts expects he'll be back next season.
Is he going to TN? Seems to be the current popular destination.
January 9th, 2019 at 9:04 PM ^
Nick Saban should have put Hurts in when it started looking like Tua was intimidated.
January 9th, 2019 at 1:36 PM ^
He's going somewhere we he will have the starting job handed to him. I doubt he's interested in going through a job competition.
So, Wisconsin? Probably too cold there for him.
January 9th, 2019 at 1:42 PM ^
They still have Hornibrook for another year. Unless you think that they're that sour on him now
January 9th, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
Wisconsin has a 4 star QB Graham Mertz already on campus who was one of the highest rated drop back passers in the country. They're set
January 9th, 2019 at 1:55 PM ^
Mertz is going to be a big deal for Wisconsin in the West.
January 9th, 2019 at 3:06 PM ^
He killed it in the AA game.
We'll probably face him next year versus a broken Hornibrook.
January 9th, 2019 at 1:56 PM ^
They also signed high 4-star quarterback Graham Mertz who just threw for a record 5 TDs in the Army All-American game, so he runs the risk of getting replaced by another freshman
January 9th, 2019 at 5:37 PM ^
He did look good in the All American game but it was 1 game. Do you know who looked like shit in last years game ,Trevor Lawrence
January 9th, 2019 at 1:38 PM ^
I wonder if he'll look at joining Mike Locksley at Maryland.
January 9th, 2019 at 1:43 PM ^
I wouldn't think so. Locksley has two QBs there already, and Maryland is otherwise a dead end. Hurts is desirable enough that he can transfer to a contender.
January 9th, 2019 at 1:48 PM ^
There also isn't any deep receiving talent there or a line that won't risk his career behind
January 9th, 2019 at 2:05 PM ^
I bet Mike Leach would love to have him replace Gardner Minshew at Washington State.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:10 PM ^
Eh, his system isn't run oriented at all and is dependent on good passers (which Hurts is not) so maybe he'd adapt his system but I can't imagine Leach wanting him.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:35 PM ^
I don't think that would be a good fit at all.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:53 PM ^
What were your thoughts on Minshew heading to Wazzu from E. Carolina?
Minshew stats: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/gardner-minshew-1.html
Hurts stats: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jalen-hurts-1.html
Jalen Hurts' stats compare favorably over Minshew's stats before his arrival in Pullman.
January 9th, 2019 at 3:24 PM ^
Not about stats. Minshew is a passing QB while Hurts is a running QB. He would not fit the Air Raid offense.
I've studied Bama with Hurts under the center and Hurts consistently missed reads or open WRs because he didn't look their way.
January 9th, 2019 at 4:02 PM ^
Jalens Hurts had 40 passing TD's his first two years and 8 more this year in limited action.
Minshew had a total of 23 passing TD's before going to wazzu.
I fail to see how scoring stats don't matter.
January 9th, 2019 at 11:45 PM ^
Because eye test shows that Jalen Hurts isn't a pure passer that Minshew is. Minshew is being looked at as a QB while Hurts doesn't have a future as a QB in the NFL. Hurts does not fit the Air Raid offense, period.
January 10th, 2019 at 10:57 AM ^
How does your "eye test" account for 48 passing TD's vs 23 passing TD's from Minshew.
If scoring points is the main objective, Hurts does that in spades...period.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:07 PM ^
Two QBs that are any good though?
This is pure speculation but I have to think his primary goal is improving his personal development and draft stock and for that he has to 1) play and 2) play for a decent offense against good defenses. Maryland certainly fits the bill.
Maybe he cares that his team has a good defense and is a contender but he's won everything you'd want to win at the college level. I doubt that matters as much to him as being in the right situation for his own personal development - that's why he's transferring away from a contender.
I do agree that there are likely probably better options (Auburn, PSU, etc) but Maryland can probably provide him what he needs personally and for that reason, they aren't a dead end for what he needs.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:12 PM ^
Well, there's no question that he wants to get time on the field and presumably develop enough to give the NFL a shot, something he won't get at Bama. But transferring to a contender is an option, because he's a desirable commodity. And on a contender he will play in bigger games and he will play with a better roster--you know, better blocking, better receivers, the kinds of things that allow a player to look good.
If he goes to Maryland and winds up on his back all year behind an inferior OL while guys like Kenny Willekes and Josh Uche steal his lunch money, he won't have much opportunity to demonstrate his ability at the NFL level.
Thinking out loud here, what I've just said makes the Big 12 sound really attractive.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:36 PM ^
Eh, I think the NFL has gotten good at determining a guys ability given his situation. They certainly take it into account and attempt to adjust. Josh Allen was famously bad against good comp at Wyoming but the NFL clearly gave him a pass considering how overmatched everyone around him was.
One could argue that going to a place that makes it easy on him doesn't allow him to show his value. He could be considered a system QB.
Maryland's offense has been pretty good the past couple years. They racked up 50+ on OSU this year. How good would he look if he came there and made their passing game functional?
It's as much of an opportunity as a dead end, IMO. I agree that he probably does have better options but this might not be a terrible one, especially if he wanted to follow Locksley.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:37 PM ^
I disagree he could go there and be the man they can run the ball decent and he is a better runner then passer. Now if Locksley and him dont have a good relationship then no he does not go.
January 9th, 2019 at 9:58 PM ^
Too soon
January 9th, 2019 at 1:40 PM ^
UCLA under Chip Kelly would be interesting.
January 9th, 2019 at 1:51 PM ^
There is a lot of noise about that on the UCLA boards. He's needed there for sure, but there is some concern that would chase off Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:03 PM ^
Interesting. I would expect Chip to go with Thompson-Robinson. He already limped through the year with a grad transfer QB.
It would be different if Kelly were in win-now mode, but that's a building project over there. UCLA isn't winning big in 2019, I don't think; Hurts could add a couple of wins and they'd still wind up something like 9-3, and then you've stunted the guy that you want ready when the rest of the roster is supposed to be up to snuff in 20 and 21.
January 9th, 2019 at 3:18 PM ^
DTR was okay this year but not great and there's NO talent in the QB room save for DTR right now, so the question becomes is chasing DTR off all that big of a loss if he can't handle competition for his first two years on campus. Plus given UCLA's O-Line just took two HUGE blows in the grad transfer of Justin Murphy and Andre James declaring for the draft and one could argue DTR being a backup is preferable to him getting "Peters against Wisconsin'd or Devin against MSU'd" It's an interesting situation, but I'm not sure Kelly can afford another season like this past one.
January 9th, 2019 at 3:33 PM ^
This is good info. I think Kelly is fine unless he's still popping out losing records in year three. I mean, c'mon, he was running his spread offense with Wilton Speight for a good chunk of the year, nobody really expected anything from him this season.
But given what you provide about the QB depth situation, maybe there could be some interest from Kelly. Not just for depth, mind you, but to shape the team, show improvement, and demonstrate the value of the QB position at UCLA to the next hot recruit so that Kelly can get some material to work with, especially if DTR doesn't turn out to be the answer.
January 9th, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
Congratulations to Ohio State on their new backup quarterback
January 9th, 2019 at 1:47 PM ^
My wife is a Gump so I watch a decent amount of tide football and Jalen Hurts is fun to watch. His pocket presence is amazing(granted behind that line most people would be) and he was really judicious in most of his decisions in what one would charitably call an Iowa-esque play book. I have a bunch of places I think he’d be awesome but there is someone established there like Oregon or Nebraska.
I just look forward to him shrugging off the shackles of a Saban offence and balling out to get a higher draft slot than Tua
January 9th, 2019 at 2:09 PM ^
Oregon just had a potential top ten draft pick QB come back for his senior season, and Nebraska has Adrian Martinez, so he's not going to either of those places.
The logical places for Hurts to go have: 1. A competitive roster in a Power 5 league; 2. A scheme that uses a QB who can use his legs; 3. A hole at the QB spot.
The Auburn idea is insane but if he played for any other program it would be totally logical. The only B1G team that makes sense to me is PSU, though with all of their departures maybe they're more of a rebuild than a contender. Elsewhere in the SEC, I don't know what Tennessee's QB situation is, but Mississippi State could absolutely make sense.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:13 PM ^
Ya I only like Nebraska and Oregon for coaching fits. USC would have been a solid one year option but handsome Cliff has gone pro. Thinking of it though Oklahoma would be an awesome fit with a coach who might be the offensive mind of his generation
January 9th, 2019 at 2:11 PM ^
That won't happen. He is a RB playing QB.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:13 PM ^
This season, in the CFP at least, Bama ran a very modern un-Iowa-like offense. I'm sure they often go conservative when they're up 100 (which is a lot) but their offense has evolved a lot in the last couple of years.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:20 PM ^
what I meant was the offence they had Jalen run. Everyone makes a big deal out of how effective Tua was in the national title game last year where Jalen wasn't but the playbook changed when they put Tua in. I also think some of the changes to their offence this year are because Tua has a tendency to have happy feet and bolt early.
January 9th, 2019 at 1:49 PM ^
I think he would be a good fit at FSU. I've got to imagine that Taggart could drop in Hurts over Francois and have immediate success.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:04 PM ^
Francois might be leaving FSU. They've got another guy that looks likely to win the job, if I recall correctly, though maybe I don't as I'm not that familiar with FSU's roster other than seeing people discuss a possible Francois transfer.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:36 PM ^
I believe that Francois is enrolled for the spring semester...not exactly sure what that means in terms of him still being on the team for next fall. Blackman is the other QB there who could step up next year. I'm pulling for FSU if only for the reason to give Clemson some competition in the ACC.
January 9th, 2019 at 1:53 PM ^
Saban needs to get his house in order. What a shit show.
January 9th, 2019 at 1:53 PM ^
clemson is out of the question (but that would be so fun), so how about UGA?
January 9th, 2019 at 2:02 PM ^
HELLO JALEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 9th, 2019 at 2:06 PM ^
Good kid. Good luck
January 9th, 2019 at 2:06 PM ^
Auburn would be a nice move for him
January 9th, 2019 at 2:10 PM ^
Good for him, as I am not a fan of transfers but I do believe he did nothing to loose his job and was kind screwed. Tua did tell Saban if he didn’t play in last years championship he was transferring, yes it did happen and yes it’s true.
January 9th, 2019 at 2:23 PM ^
Lose. Why is "loose" a thing? Someone has a screw loose.
January 9th, 2019 at 3:10 PM ^
Did nothing to lose his job except be worse than the other player at his position...
January 9th, 2019 at 2:22 PM ^
A season too late. Guy lost a year of eligibility by staying at Alabama this past season.