“I went through a lot of stuff in college, but one verse stuck with me….John 13:7. ‘You may not know now, but later you’ll understand.’”
Jalen Hurts, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, is heading to the Super Bowl. After winning the NFC Championship on Sunday against the 49ers, he referenced his favorite Bible verse in a post-game interview after leading his team to the Super Bowl.
Hurts quoted John 13:7 in response to a question about his journey, including falling in the 2020 NFL draft, and feeling unwanted by the Eagles, who already had an established quarterback at the time in Carson Wentz.
“John 13:7. ‘You may not know now, but later you’ll understand.’”
Hurts has endured many trials and tribulations through his collegiate and professional career.
At Alabama, Hurts passed for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns with 9 interceptions his freshman year, and completed 62.8% of his passes, earning a quarterback rating of 139.12. He also broke the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 954 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Alabama ended the 2016-2017 regular season with a perfect 12-0 (8-0 SEC) record. Hurts was named one of the ten finalists for the Manning Award and was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year, and Freshman All-American. He was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated College Football Playoff magazine. Alabama lost the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship to Clemson 35-31.
Hurts’ career wouldn’t always be smooth sailing though, as he was replaced at Alabama with current Miami Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
After Tagovailoa’s championship-winning performance the previous year, there were questions about whether Jalen Hurts would retain his starting quarterback position at Alabama. On January 16, 2019, Hurts announced his transfer to the University of Oklahoma for his final college season.
He led the Sooners to a Big 12 Championship and a College Football Playoff appearance. Despite losing to LSU in the Peach Bowl, Hurts had a successful season with Oklahoma, throwing for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions, and rushing for 1,298 yards and 20 touchdowns. He finished as the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting to Joe Burrow.
Hurts was eventually drafted 53rd overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. On December 6, 2020, Hurts replaced Carson Wentz, who was removed from the game due to poor performance, against the Green Bay Packers. In Week 17 against the Washington Football Team, Hurts’ benching sparked allegations that Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was trying to lose the game on purpose. Pederson was later fired. In 2021, Hurts was named the starting quarterback for the regular season by new head coach Nick Sirianni.
Jalen Hurts contributed to the Eagles earning a playoff spot in 2021 and was named to the Pro Bowl for the 2021 NFC season. In the Wild Card Round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hurts passed for 258 yards and a touchdown, but also had one fumble and two interceptions in the 31-15 defeat.
In the 2022 season, Hurts had a 14-1 starting record, tying a franchise record of 35 total touchdowns with Randall Cunningham. As a result, he was selected for his first Pro Bowl and was named a Second Team All-Pro. In 2023, Hurts was a finalist for the NFL Most Valuable Player Award.
In the 2022-23 NFL playoffs, Hurts led the Eagles to a 38-7 victory over the New York Giants in the Divisional Round, earning his first playoff win. He also guided the Eagles to a 31-7 win in the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, where he threw for 121 yards, rushed for 39 yards, and scored a touchdown in his first NFC Championship victory.
He’s now headed to the Super Bowl.
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