Syracuse Football: Jalen Hurts could be headed to the Salt City

Could the Syracuse football team be looking to add a dynamic presence to the quarterback room? If so, Jalen Hurts just might be interested.

Everyone has the feels right now within the Syracuse football program. Many people (myself included) have stated that this is the healthiest quarterback situation the Orange have had in a long time, Dino Babers cited ‘since 1998’, bold claim.

They’ve got a modern day Evel Knievel on their hands in Eric Dungey. When healthy he is clearly one of the best quarterbacks in the conference. They’ve got the supposed future in Tommy DeVito who has garnered a ton of accolades leading to his Syracuse commitment.

Plus a variety of intriguing options in Chance Amie and Rex Culpepper who have promise. But SU has the chance to add one of the most dynamic talents in the entire country, meet Jalen Hurts.

You should immediately recognize the name. He’s Alabama royalty and has a National Championship ring around his finger. A dual threat athlete who brings a lot to the table. So why are we talking about Hurts potentially transferring?

Jalen Hurts is likely to transfer from Alabama if he doesn't win the starting QB job. His dad says he'll become "the biggest free agent in college football history.” https://t.co/pFf450ua9p pic.twitter.com/vLjGcEdMfk
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 19, 2018

In case you forgot, Hurts had led the Tide to a 12-1 record and a second straight National Championship appearance. But after a tumultuous first half in one of the most shocking moves in recent memory, Nick Saban yanked Hurts for the unproven and untested Tua Tagovailoa.

Fast forward a few chapters in this book, Tua throws the game winning touchdown pass, he becomes an instant legend, Hurts handles everything like a pro.

But if Saban decides to stick with the Tua train, (certainly possible), then Hurts will be looking to take his talents elsewhere, at least that’s what his dad says.

"“Coach Saban’s job is to do what’s best for his team. I have no problem with that,” Averion Hurts said via Matt Hayes of Bleacher Report. “My job is to do what’s best for Jalen—and make no mistake, Jalen is a quarterback, and he wants to play quarterback. He loves Alabama, loves Coach Saban and everything about that place. But he wants to play, and he will play…”Averion stops mid-sentence because the idea of his son not playing for Alabama isn’t one he takes lightly. What if Jalen doesn’t win the job, he is asked?He shakes his head slowly, answers begrudgingly. “Well, he’d be the biggest free agent in college football history.”"

If Hurts decided to take his talents somewhere else, he would have two years of eligibility remaining. Over the last two years with the Crimson Tide, Hurts has thrown for nearly 5,000 yards and ran for nearly 2,000 yards.

We’ve mentioned it time after time, SU hasn’t had a 1,000 yard rusher since 2012, Hurts has almost done it in back-to-back seasons AS A QUARTERBACK!

Yeah Paul that’s all great, he’s talented, proven, and could realistically transfer,

but why the hell would he come to Syracuse?

I’m glad you asked.

Let’s go back to other star quarterbacks from top programs and look what they chose to do in the recent past. A couple of former Notre Dame stars are good examples to take a closer look at in Everett Golson and Malik Zaire.

Golson appeared in the National Championship for the Fighting Irish, dealt with some varying issues and decides to transfer. He goes over to Florida State (big time program) and flops.

Let’s jump over to the talented Malik Zaire. Same situation, loses quarterback battle, says I’m out of here. He picks the sexiest name that is interested in Florida. Another flop, doesn’t win the job, tucks his tail between his legs and walks off into the sunset.

Picking a big time place that already has established players isn’t always the best option. So why not a place like Syracuse?

The Orange already have several prospects on this team that have shown some good signs, but let’s be honest with ourselves, it hasn’t made a difference. This team hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2013 and those records have been: 3-9, 4-8, 4-8, AND 4-8 again.

That doesn’t pay the bills folks.

Next: Syracuse Basketball: Grading the Orange in the NBA

Hurts could come in and immediately be the guy for the Orange. Is SU the best landing spot? We could argue about it, but in this Dino Babers offense he could be the perfect fit and set himself up perfectly for the NFL Draft. I mean look what he did for Jimmy Garoppolo at Eastern Illinois, highest paid quarterback in NFL History? Not too shabby.

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