Despite losing his starting job after the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Jalen Hurts continued to take the advice of head coach Nick Saban. And it served him well when he was ready to transfer.
In an interview with The 33rd Team, Saban revealed that when Hurts wanted to transfer he had Maryland and Miami ahead of Oklahoma on his list of potential destinations. Saban said that he nudged Hurts towards Oklahoma due to the superior talent that they had around Hurts.
“He wanted to go to Maryland or Miami. I said, ‘You need to go to Oklahoma. They got the best coach (Lincoln Riley) to develop you as a quarterback and you’re going to be around the best players so that’s going to enhance your chances of having success,” Saban said, via On3 Sports.
Saban said that he was happy to see that Hurts took his advice before going on to have an historic year for the Sooners. He said it fills him with pride to see Hurts now leading the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl.
“He did that. He had a great year. I was worried about having to play him in the playoffs, and I can’t tell you how proud I am of seeing this guy in the Super Bowl…”
NFL fans love it too, with many taking to Twitter to revel in how good of a guy Saban is for doing that:
Let it never be said that Nick Saban doesn’t still care about any of the players who no longer have a place in his starting lineup.
Hurts is now one game away from becoming the first quarterback Saban coached to win a Super Bowl.