Hurts: Down, But Not Out!

November 3, 2018. Tiger Stadium. Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

I was sitting on the Alabama side of the stadium, surrounded by a sea of crimson, watching the Crimson Tide thoroughly dominate my LSU Tigers. Alabama would win that game 29–0.

But something else caught my attention that night.

I kept watching a young man on the Alabama sideline. His name was Jalen Hurts.

I remember watching him pace the sidelines, then sit among his teammates, sometimes perched on his helmet along the bench. There was something about his demeanor, his composure, the way he carried himself.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I saw something different in that young man.

I left Tiger Stadium that night believing I had witnessed someone special. Someone destined for greatness.

And what made that observation particularly meaningful was what Jalen Hurts was going through at the time.

The measure of a man

Just ten months earlier, Jalen had been Alabama’s starting quarterback in the National Championship Game against Georgia.

He had led Alabama to consecutive national championship appearances. Yet at halftime, with Alabama trailing Georgia 13–0, Coach Nick Saban benched him in favor of freshman Tua Tagovailoa.

Tua led Alabama to a dramatic overtime victory and subsequently became the team’s starting quarterback.

Imagine that.

You lead one of the greatest college football programs in America to consecutive national championship appearances, and suddenly you’re sitting on the bench watching someone else do your job.

Many young men would have become bitter. Some would have blamed their coach. Others would have walked away.

But not Jalen Hurts.

He stayed. He supported his teammates. He continued preparing, even though there was no guarantee his opportunity would ever come again.

Think about that for a moment.

He could have put himself ahead of his teammates. He could have allowed disappointment to become resentment. He could have abandoned the people who were counting on him.

But he didn’t.

He chose loyalty over resentment. Humility over ego. Preparation over self-pity. And the success of his team over his own personal disappointment.

That is strength of character.

Look at college football today. Transfer portals, NIL money, multimillion-dollar deals, and players changing schools in pursuit of the next opportunity. Loyalty and commitment can seem to take a back seat to personal recognition and financial reward.

I’m not suggesting every player who transfers lacks character. Jalen himself would eventually transfer to Oklahoma.

But there is an important difference.

When adversity first struck, Jalen didn’t abandon his commitment to his teammates.

When things didn’t go his way, he didn’t demand something better for himself. He made himself better for his team.

That is the kind of character I believe we see far too rarely today.

And that is what makes Jalen Hurts so extraordinary.

When destiny came calling

Four weeks after I watched him on the sidelines at Tiger Stadium, Alabama was playing Georgia again.

December 1, 2018. The SEC Championship Game. Atlanta, Georgia.

The same opponent. The same stadium where Jalen had lost his starting position eleven months earlier.

Georgia was leading Alabama 28–21 in the fourth quarter when Tua Tagovailoa went down with an injury.

And that’s when I imagine destiny tapping Jalen Hurts on the shoulder and whispering softly in his ear:

“Son, it’s time.”

For thirteen long weeks, Jalen Hurts had watched another young man lead the team he once commanded. He practiced. He prepared. He supported his teammates. And through it all, he never knew whether his moment would come again.

Then, on December 1, 2018, destiny came calling.

Now, with the SEC Championship hanging in the balance, his team needed him.

And what did Jalen do?

He walked onto that football field and delivered one of the most magnificent demonstrations of composure, preparation, and leadership I have ever witnessed.

He led Alabama on two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, throwing for one touchdown and running for the winning score with just over a minute remaining.

Alabama 35. Georgia 28.

I remember watching that comeback and thinking about the young man I had observed just four weeks earlier in Tiger Stadium.

I knew there was something special about him.

Now the whole world knew.

But what I admired most wasn’t the comeback itself.

It was everything that young man had done to prepare himself for a moment he had no reason to believe would ever come.

His greatest demonstration of leadership may have occurred when he was no longer the leader on the field.

He had lost his position.

But he had never lost his character.

Greatness beyond the football field

Jalen would eventually transfer to Oklahoma, finish second in the Heisman Trophy voting, and become one of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks.

He would lead the Philadelphia Eagles to two Super Bowls and earn Super Bowl MVP honors.

Those are extraordinary accomplishments.

But none of them changed what I admired most about him.

His humility. His discipline. His loyalty. His resilience. His willingness to put others ahead of himself.

I have watched football for more than sixty years, and I cannot recall another player who has earned my respect more than Jalen Hurts.

Not because he is the greatest quarterback I have ever seen.

But because of the human being he has demonstrated himself to be.

Now, a far greater challenge

And now, in October 2026, Jalen Hurts faces a challenge far more serious than losing a starting position or winning a football game.

He has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in both lungs. He is receiving treatment with blood thinners and is expected to miss the remainder of the football season.

Fortunately, his doctors report that his condition is stable and that they expect a full recovery.

But I am deeply troubled by the circumstances surrounding this medical crisis.

Before the Eagles’ October 11 game in London, medical personnel had identified a blood clot in Jalen’s calf. After medical consultation, he was cleared to play.

He subsequently developed a far more serious condition involving blood clots in his lungs.

I am not a physician, and I cannot determine whether the decision to allow him to play contributed to what happened afterward.

But I believe the circumstances raise serious questions about the judgment exercised by those entrusted with protecting this young man’s health and safety.

Throughout my professional career, I have held one fundamental belief about leadership:

When people are entrusted to your care, their safety must come before everything else.

Before production. Before profits. Before schedules. And certainly before winning football games.

The Eagles’ coaches, medical professionals, and organizational leadership owe Jalen Hurts, his family, and the public a clear explanation of the decisions that were made.

Perhaps those decisions were medically justified. Perhaps mistakes were made. That deserves careful and independent examination.

But one thing should never be in question.

No football game, no championship, and no $255 million contract is worth a human life.

The story isn’t over

Today, my greatest concern isn’t whether Jalen Hurts will ever throw another touchdown pass.

It’s whether this remarkable young man will make a complete recovery and enjoy the long, healthy, fulfilling life he deserves.

I hope and pray that he does.

And if his health permits, I hope someday we have the privilege of watching him lead his team onto a football field again.

But I believe something else.

The Jalen Hurts story is far from over.

You see, greatness isn’t measured by how many times life knocks you down. It’s measured by what you do when you get back up.

And if there is one thing this remarkable young man has demonstrated throughout his life, it is that adversity does not define him.

His response to adversity does.

I don’t know what the next chapter of Jalen Hurts’ life will look like. None of us do.

But I believe with all my heart that there are more chapters to be written, more lives to be inspired, and more greatness yet to come.

And somewhere, perhaps when the road ahead seems darkest, I imagine destiny will once again tap that young man on the shoulder and whisper softly in his ear:

“Son, it’s time.”

And knowing what I know about Jalen Hurts, I wouldn’t bet against him.

Not for a second.