Jalen Hurts Is Built By Bama And You'd Have To Have Donkey Brains To Disagree

Jordie1/31/2023 4:20 PM

Kevin C. Cox. Getty Images.

It's been a huge NFL Playoffs for gatekeeping which collegiate programs are allowed to "claim" which quarterbacks. Most of it started with Ohio State fans trying to "claim" Joe Burrow. And I'll admit that one is a little different since Joe Burrow never played any actual meaningful games for Ohio State. But he still went there, practiced and developed there, got a degree from there. So while I don't think they should build any Joe Burrow statues in Columbus, if you want to claim the guy then you can claim the guy.

But then we move on to Jalen Hurts and the Alabama Crimson Tide. I'm legitimately shocked at the idea there are folks out there who don't think that Jalen is Built By Bama, despite the fact that he finished his college career at Oklahoma. Now when you look at where the resistance is coming from, it's pretty easy to deduce the fact that it stems from a lifetime of hatred and jealousy towards the Alabama progrum.

Brandon Walker is obviously going to try to take anything away from Alabama he can because Mississippi State hasn't beaten Bama since the Bush administration.

Big T is obviously going to try to take anything away from Alabama he can because Tennessee just beat Alabama for the first time in his adult life.

At the core of each of their arguments is the same thing. The fact that Jalen Hurts was benched in the National Championship game, sat behind Tua for the majority of the next season, and was then "forced" to transfer to Oklahoma to finish his college career. They think because of that, Alabama doesn't get to claim Jalen Hurts. It's a fair argument if you have a giant bowl of applesauce for brains.

What they fail to recognize, whether intentionally or not, is the fact that is exactly what makes Jalen Hurts the quarterback that he is today. Jalen Hurts is an incredible talent, no doubt about that. The man is an MVP finalist, and plenty of that talent can be attributed to the year he spent with Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. But let's just think about some of the other talents that Lincoln Riley has developed. Kyler Murray has talent, sure, but he just spent an entire season throwing his coach under the bus and getting yelled at for playing too many video games. Baker Mayfield has talent, sure, but he has become the epitome of organizational dysfunction in the NFL. Jalen Hurts has talent, sure, but that's not why the Philadelphia Eagles are going to the Super Bowl.

The Eagles are going to the Super Bowl because Jalen Hurts is an elite leader of men. Something that he probably developed his entire life of being raised the right way at home. But certainly something that he was able to perfect during his time in Tuscaloosa. All those years he spent with Nick Saban just studying how to prepare and how to handle the media and how to make sure that every guy in that locker room is all focused on the same goal. You don't learn how to be a great leader by putting up insane numbers against Big 12 defenses for a season. You learn to be a great leader through adversity. Through getting benched in the national championship game, choosing to remain with your teammates the next season even though you know that starting job isn't yours anymore, staying prepared, and then coming in to replace an injured Tua in the SEC Championship game and getting the job done.

Jalen Hurts is an MVP finalist this year because of his year at Oklahoma. Jalen Hurts has led the Eagles to the Super Bowl this year because of his 3 at Alabama. Final verdict?: Built By Bama.