Oklahoma football: Which is the bigger 2019 addition: Jalen Hurts or Alex Grinch?

Hurts isn’t just experienced, he’s battle-tested. He won at a high level as a freshman. He came off the bench last year to lead his team back against Georgia in the SEC title game. He’s played in some of college football’s biggest games over the past three years.

And perhaps most important: Jalen Hurts knows what it takes to win college football playoff games. For as good as the Sooners have been with a pair of Heisman winners at quarterback, it’s the one hump they haven’t been able to get past.

Hurts is also a physical specimen who will bring a certain edge and toughness to the Sooners on offense. The power quarterback running game has been used extremely sparingly with both Mayfield and Murray. Imagine what is going to happen when Hurts gets behind those pulling guards in Bill Bedenbaugh’s offensive line and runs wild downfield against undersized Big 12 safeties. It’s going to be fun to watch.

None of this should discount the fact that Hurts is more than capable as a passer to keep Oklahoma humming right along on offense next year (and the film backs up our case). The Sooners might fall off just a skosh from back-to-back record-setting years, but it likely won’t be enough for anyone else to catch up to them.

It also sets Oklahoma football up as a continued destination for transfer quarterbacks and a major player in the new “free agency” era, something that will become more and more important as the landscape of college football continues to change.

To win the Big 12 conference you have to be able to score points, plain and simple and adding Hurts should enhance the Sooners’ ability to do that in 2019.