Oklahoma: 2019
Passing yards: 3,851
TD: 32 INT: 8
NFL: 2020-current
Jalen Hurts did not win the Heisman trophy at Oklahoma, he did not win a national championship, and he only played one year as a Sooner. However, Hurts defines QBU by proving how great of a place to play quarterback Oklahoma was under Lincoln Riley, and by his NFL career.
Hurts began his career at Alabama, but was eventually supplanted as the starter by Tua Tagovailoa, so in 2019, with one year of eligibility remaining, Hurts transferred to replace Kyler Murray as Riley’s starting quarterback. Hurts threw for 1,000 more yards than his best year at Alabama, which came as a freshman and finished the year with 3,851 yards passing and 1,298 yards rushing.
At first it seemed that Hurts’ revitalization proved that anyone could contend for the Heisman trophy in Riley’s offense, but after Hurts took over as the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles and led them to the Super Bowl as an MVP candidate, it became clear that Riley brought a great talent to Oklahoma, maximized his ability and built a foundation for success at the next level.
The way that Hurts saved his football career at Oklahoma defines what QBU is all about. From Josh Heupel transferring from Snow College to Kyler Murray transferring from Texas A&M and leaving a baseball contract on the table. QBU is about all the different ways to build a great quarterback and all the different places that they come from.