Jalen Hurts’ Senior Bowl helmet pays tribute to Alabama and Oklahoma
By John Buhler
![Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma Sooners. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma Sooners. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/b7765543fdb9c7e9de11196d1fadf645a0f35e6b1e96ca713eeecffc1bee164d.jpg)
Jalen Hurts starred for the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Oklahoma Sooners. So it’s only fitting he’s wearing a helmet at Senior Bowl honoring both schools.
Jalen Hurts will honor both schools he played for at the Senior Bowl.
One day, we’re going to look back on what Hurts did in his four years in college football and wonder how he didn’t win a Heisman Trophy. He made the College Football Playoff all four years in school, with the first three coming with the Alabama Crimson Tide and the last with the Oklahoma Sooners. He won a national championship as a sophomore in 2017 with Alabama.
As Hurts’ college football career has ended, his NFL career is about to begin. Though he improved massively as a passer in Lincoln Riley’s Air Raid offense in Oklahoma, Hurts won’t be a first-round pick in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. Look for him to be a day-two pick by some savvy team. More importantly, look for him to be rocking a pretty sweet helmet at this year’s Senior Bowl.
Yes, Hurts will be wearing a custom-made Oklahoma AND Alabama football helmet. One side of the helmet will feature his iconic No. 2 to represent his three years in Tuscaloosa. The other side will proudly display the OU emblem from his sensational senior season in Norman. Though we may see other transfer players with two-tone helmets in future Senior Bowls, this is so awesome.
A look at @JalenHurts’ @seniorbowl helmet tha will be 1/2 #Alabama & 1/2 #Oklahoma. This is the one he’s signed that will he auctioned off for charity with proceeds going to @SpecialFans. pic.twitter.com/slKBvPXprQ
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) January 21, 2020
You’re not going to find many football players who have universal praise from two blue-blooded institutions the caliber of Alabama and Oklahoma. Once it became clear that it was the Tua Tagovailoa show in Tuscaloosa in 2018, Hurts was the better man. He got his degree from the University of Alabama and transferred with dignity to the University of Oklahoma.
Though it remains to be seen what Hurts will become as a quarterback at the professional level, we know that he’s a legend in both SEC and Big 12 country. Joe Burrow may be beloved in his native Ohio and by Buckeye Nation, but he was never anything close to the player he was at LSU for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ultimately, Hurts is a shining example of why college football is the best. He conducted himself with class throughout his college career and had a phenomenal career at two huge programs. Maybe he can impress a few NFL teams with his quarterbacking abilities and leadership at Mobile this week? You’ll want a guy like Hurts in the foxhole with you. That’s for sure.
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