Saban was on a podcast recently and was asked about Jalen Hurts...

quote:

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Said Coach Saban:

“You have to understand the history of this player. He went 26-2 as a starter and bought in everything about the program and got beat out. He went a whole season after being 26-2 as a starter as a back-up player. We had a conversation… and he wanted to graduate from Alabama, so he wasn’t going to transfer until he graduated. I said, ‘You need to work on becoming a better passer- you can’t just make plays with your feet, so this whole season I want you to focus on reading coverages, being more instinctive with getting the ball out of your hand quickly, anticipating throws and windows, understanding the passing game better and being able to read and dissect what you need to do and focus on. If you want to play in the NFL someday, that’s what you need to improve on. His diligence in doing that on a daily basis- he wouldn’t take off running in practice- he made himself stand in the pocket.

“When he wanted to transfer, he said, ‘I feel comfortable going to Maryland because Coach Locksley was my coach or going to Miami because Dan Enos was my coach, or I can go to Oklahoma’, and I said: ‘Well, who has the best players?’. He wanted to go to Maryland or Miami. I said, ‘Go to Oklahoma- they have the best players and the best coaches that can develop you as a quarterback, and you will compete against the best players so that will enhance your chances of having success’. So he did that and had a great year- I was worried about playing him in the playoffs, but it never worked out that way. I can’t tell you how proud I am of seeing this guy in the Super Bowl, because I know first hand what he went through to get there, and how he dedicated himself to do the things he needed to do to make himself a better player, make him a complete player at that position.”

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