Reverse the Curse: Why Jalen Hurts will be Alabama's 1st Heisman QB
With 11 national championships in the poll era, 30 conference titles, and 68 consensus All-Americans, there isn't much Alabama hasn't done in the college football world.
One thing that has managed to evade the Crimson Tide, however, is a Heisman-winning quarterback.
Alabama has only had two players in its history win college football's most prestigious individual trophy, and neither lined up under center. That curse may be coming to an end this year though, as Jalen Hurts looks to build off his incredible freshman campaign.
Hurts' strong rookie showing was certainly a surprise, as the Texas native came to Alabama as the 20th-ranked member of the Crimson Tide's 2016 class. He was ranked by ESPN as the 13th-best player at his position and failed to crack the list of top 300 prospects in the country.
He began the Crimson Tide's season opener against USC on the bench but quickly replaced Blake Barnett and never looked back. He finished the schedule with 2,780 yards passing and 23 touchdowns, while also adding 954 yards and 13 scores on the ground, and captured the SEC Offensive Player of the Year award.
The next step for Hurts is Heisman contention, and here are three reasons why he will be the first Alabama quarterback to win the prestigious award.
Experience
Most players struggle to adjust to the level of play in college, but Hurts dominated from the jump. If he was able to do that in his first season, imagine the possibilities in his second go-around. The Crimson Tide's offense will have a new man at the controls as Brian Daboll takes over for Lane Kiffin, but the former New England Patriots assistant should do just fine with Hurts at his disposal. Nothing should surprise Hurts in his second collegiate season, and that's a terrifying thought for opposing defenses.
Returning Weapons
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Hurts will be dealing with a large amount of turnover at the receiver spot as ArDarius Stewart, Gehrig Dieter, and O.J. Howard all departed, but Calvin Ridley is returning to wreck opposition defenses yet again. The speedster caught 72 passes for 769 yards and seven touchdowns last season and, with increased responsibilities, could post huge numbers for the Crimson Tide.
With three of the top four receivers from last year gone, it's a safe bet that Alabama will run the ball the majority of the time. While that would hurt most quarterbacks' numbers, Hurts is one of the best runners at the position in the country. Six of the last seven players to win the Heisman were quarterbacks, and five of those six were dual-threat options that posted massive rushing numbers. That certainly bodes well for Hurts' chances to break Alabama's curse.
Weakened defense
As has been the norm with Nick Saban's dominant program, the Crimson Tide suffered significant losses to the NFL draft last season. The majority of those came from the country's top-ranked defense, which should lead to a slight dip in production from that unit in 2017. With a weakened defense, Alabama's offense will have to put more points on the board. That should be music to any offensive player's ears, and more possessions should hand Hurts even more opportunities for production.