TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jalen Hurts finally got his word in. After months of keeping to himself, the Alabama quarterback spoke to reporters Saturday for the first time since the national championship game on Jan. 8. Since then there’s been countless speculation over his status with the team, especially the possibility of a transfer if he loses the quarterback battle with Tua Tagovailoa.
The only problem, Hurts hasn’t had a say in any of it. Until now.
“It’s been a lot of rumors and speculation of what’s gone on this summer,” Hurts said. “The funny part to me is it’s a lot of people who have made decisions for me. It’s actually good to see y’all because I kind of feeling like they’ve been hiding me from y’all.”
Hurts has been reserved during his time at Alabama, generally sticking to the message of head coach Nick Saban during interviews. Saturday he seemed irritated with how the football program handled the hype around him this summer, stating a frustration with not being able to speak for himself.
“They didn’t want me to talk for whatever reason,” Hurts said. “I get the opportunity to speak now, and I’ve always tried to handle situations like this and handle speaking the best way I can. At the end of the day, I’m a representative myself and a representative of my family back home.”
During SEC Media Days last month, Saban was asked point-blank whether or not he felt Hurts would be on the roster come Alabama’s opener against Louisville on Sept. 1. Saban provided an ambiguous response, stating, “Well, I have no idea. I expect him to be there.” That sparked even more transfer flames until a week later when Saban revealed a conversation he had with Hurts to ESPN.
"Jalen actually came to me and said ... 'I am going to be here. I am going to be here. I came here to get an education. I graduate in December, and I'm going to be here,'" Saban told ESPN.
However, that’s not precisely how Hurts remembers things.
“That was kind of taken out of proportion as well because it wasn’t a conversation. It didn’t go like that,” Hurts said. “I actually went and talked to him about his comments on if he didn’t know if I would be here for the first game. We had a conversation about that and I was shocked that he said that.
“I told him in June that I’d be here. It was never a decision that needed to be made in regards to me leaving. That was something the general media kind of placed on me, something I never said. With that, I told him, ‘Like I told you already, I’ll be here. I’m about to graduate in January, so why leave? Even when I’m not in a situation where I think I should leave, I don’t get it. Why do that when I’m 15 credit hours away from graduating?”
Hurts later called the situation, “uncontrollable,” but stated he wished things would have been handled differently.
“This whole experience, ever since the (national championship game) they kind of let it play out. They kind of just didn’t think it was a thing, that y’all would let it die down like there wasn’t something there regardless of the elephant in the room,” Hurts said. “For me, no one came up to me the whole experience, coaches included. No one asked me how I felt. No one asked me what was on my mind. No one asked me how I felt about the things that were going on. Nobody asked me about my future, none of that. So now it’s like when we are kind of trying to mend the situation now it’s kind of late. It’s too late.”
Hurts will now have to move on from that as he competes with Tagovailoa for the starting spot this fall. Last season, Hurts started all 14 of Alabama’s games, completing 60.4 percent of his passes for 2,081 yards and 17 touchdowns with one interception while rushing for 855 yards and eight touchdowns.
Tagovailoa appeared in nine games, completing 63.6 percent of his passes for 636 yards and 11 touchdowns with two interceptions, but is best known for his appearance in the national championship game when he replaced Hurts at halftime. Entering the game down 13-0, Tagovailoa led Alabama to a comeback over Georgia, completing 14 of 24 for 166 yards, three touchdowns, including the 41-yard game-winner to Devonta Smith in overtime.
Earlier Saturday, Saban stated he doesn’t want his quarterbacks to be focused on improving rather than worrying about potential “what-if” situations. According to Hurts, that’s exactly what he plans to do in the coming weeks.
“I'm definitely not looking over my shoulder. I’m not worried about anybody else,” Hurts said. “I’m just worried about me, Jalen Hurts, and being the best player I can be and the best quarterback I can be.”
