Jalen Hurts uses Oklahoma analogy going into 2023 season with Eagles

Jalen Hurts harkened back to his Oklahoma days as he looked ahead to 2023 with the Philadelphia Eagles, fresh off an NFC Championship.

It’s a transition from last season, where Philadelphia fell just short of a Super Bowl title against the Kansas City Chiefs. Hurts is no stranger to adversity in championship moments, win or lose.

So moving forward, Hurts sent a clear message about the Eagles this fall: it’s a different team.

“It was really good to get everybody together, meet the new guys and kind of start from ground one again,” Hurts said. “You know, I think at this time of the year, thinking about it holistically, last year is over. Anything that we were able to do last year, I’ve said this every offseason … To be honest I remember I went to Oklahoma and specifically talked about that. Nothing prior. Nothing has been done prior will get us to where we want to be now. 

“There are a ton of experiences that we definitely documented, deposited in the bank if you will, to learn from and we will learn from and have learned from. But you know, it’s a day-by-day thing and I think everybody’s taking that approach aside to just kind of continue that progression.”

Of course when Hurts references Oklahoma, he transferred to play for the Sooners under Lincoln Riley for his final year of college football. After an up and down career at Alabama, which included highs like winning an SEC Championship and lows of winning a national title after being benched at halftime, Hurts didn’t let that dictate what was to come.

Hurts turned himself into a Heisman Trophy finalist and second round pick by the Eagles after ending his final year at Alabama as a backup. At Oklahoma, Hurts threw for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns, eight interceptions, a 69.7% completion percentage, 1,298 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns.

Hurts now has to emulate his Oklahoma lesson in the NFL. An MVP candidate last year, he led the Eagles to the best record in the NFL and romped through the playoffs before the agonizing loss to the Chiefs.

Last year, he threw for 3,701 yards, 22 touchdowns, six interceptions, a 66.5% completion percentage, 760 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.

What will the quarterback do for an encore? If it’s anything like what Hurts did at Oklahoma in 2019 to rebound from 2018, it could be a magical year in Philadelphia.