Atlanta area has been key to Jalen Hurts’ rise in the NFL

After playing in the Senior Bowl and before the draft in 2020, Hurts worked out with Smith, who been posting those workouts on his Instagram page.

Smith, who also trained former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, felt Hurts would be a star in the NFL. Hurts just kept working.

“He puts in work the old-fashioned way,” Hurts said of Smith. “I have a lot of respect for him, and I definitely appreciate his support.”

Hurts was drafted in the second round (53rd overall) by the Eagles. He made four starts in 2020 and went 1-3. Hurts went 8-7 in 2021.

This season, in 2022, he had a major breakthrough and has posted a 16-1 mark as a starter.

“I think he just had his mindset of what he wanted to improve on this offseason, and he went to work,” Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown said.

Brown and wide receiver DeVonta Smith had thousand-yard seasons as the Eagles’ offense was nearly unstoppable with Hurts at the controls.

“It’s been amazing to see the growth that he’s had,” Smith said. “The steps that he’s taken from last year to now, has been amazing. You are truly happy for a guy like that because you know how hard he works.”

The work didn’t stop with training for the draft. Last offseason, with the Eagles essentially saying, prove to us you’re an NFL quarterback, Hurts held rigorous offseason workouts.

After Brown was traded by the Titans, he joined Hurts at Florida Atlantic University at the workouts.

“Man, I really feel like it’s not a time to reflect,” Hurts said. “It’s been a lot, but I didn’t put all that work in for no reason. I feel like this team hasn’t put in all the work we put in for no reason. So, we come in here to finish the job that we set out to do.”

The Eagles also credit quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson with helping to develop Hurts. He coached in the SEC at Mississippi State and Florida before joining the Eagles staff in 2021.

“Brian and Jalen’s relationship goes back a long way, with Brian playing for Jalen’s father (Averion Hurts, a former Texas high school coach),” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “They already had an instant connection when he got here.”

Johnson played at Utah and was 26-7 as a starter.

“Brian’s really smart,” Sirianni said. “Brian’s played the position of quarterback at a really high level, and now he coaches it at a high level.”

Sirianni contended that Johnson does a great job of simplifying complex concepts for Hurts.

“He’s contributed a lot to Jalen’s success,” Sirianni said.

Hurts’ father was his coach in high school in suburban Houston. He was heavily recruited by Texas A&M, but signed with Alabama. His older brother played, Averion, played quarterback at Texas Southern.

“It’s means everything to me,” Hurts said of his relationship with his father. “He’s my hero. I’m a direct reflection of him. A splitting image of him in so many ways. I respected him for how tough he was on me and the man he raised. … I love him and appreciate him always.”

Atlanta has been a key part of Hurts’ journey even before he went to train with Chip Smith.

While playing for the Crimson Tide, he was pitted against Georgia in the national championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Hurts was yanked after the Bulldogs built a 13-0 lead at halftime in January 2018.

Hurts was seen on the sidelines cheering on his replacement Tua Tagovailoa, who pulled out the victory, 26-23 in overtime.

Hurts stayed at Alabama for another season and graduated after splitting time and playing mostly as Tagovailoa’s backup. He transferred to Oklahoma and played the 2019 season for the Sooners.

Hurts said he leaned on his faith during those tumultuous college years in the spotlight.

“I always speak about John 13:7, ‘Jesus replied, you may not know now, but later you’ll understand,’” Hurts said. “That’s something that I’ve been able to lean on since I really got to college. Something that resonated with me. Something that stuck with me, and I feel like it applies to all of us.

“We all go through moments of unclarity. We don’t know what’s what, but it will always be OK in the end. You just (must) have faith in that. That’s one thing that’s very important to me.”

Hurts believes he was benched by coaching legend Nick Saban for a reason.

“I call them formative experiences,” Hurts said. “That’s what I call all of those things that I’ve been able to go through.”

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been impressed as he’s studied Hurts’ growth while preparing for the Super Bowl.

“You just see a confident, intelligent quarterback,” Spagnuolo said. “Jalen Hurts, I don’t think he gets enough credit for what he does pre-snap and how he challenges (defenses) to show what you’re in coverage-wise because he hits a double cadence and then will snap it real quick.”

Hurts completed 66.5% of his passes, threw 22 touchdowns and had only six interceptions during the regular season. Hurts also rushed for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“That coaching staff and Jalen, what they have done all year long, is impressive,” Spagnuolo said. “They make it really challenging and hard for defenses.”

The Eagles have tailored the offense to Hurts’ skill set. He’s a true dual-threat quarterback as a passer and runner.

“A lot of it is instinctive, and he’s been doing it for a while,” Spagnuolo said of the run-pass-option plays. “He did it at Oklahoma and Alabama. These guys that come into this league now, they grow up on that.”

What has made Hurts even more dynamic is his improvement in the traditional drop-back passing game.

“He knows where to go,” Spagnuolo said. “He’s got two weapons that he uses all the time, but let’s not forget about the tight end. He’s pretty good, too. They’ve got (weapons) all over the place. This morning I’m watching film and (No.) 14 (running back Kenneth Gainwell) is getting the ball all the time, and he’s running all over the field.”

Spagnuolo believes the Chiefs will have their hands full trying to stop Hurts.

“So, I’m not sure. … Sometimes it feels like they’ve got 13 guys out there with this much skill,” he quipped. “I’m mean (No.) 6 (Smith) and (No.) 11 (Brown) are as good as we are going to go against or have gone against all year long. One is big and powerful and has a great catch radius. The other guy can run by everybody.”

Hurts has had answers when teams have tried to take Smith and Brown out of the offense.

“When he can’t get it to them, this is one thing that I think is pretty impressive, he doesn’t take chances,” Spagnuolo said. “He’ll get it down to the back or get it to his tight end. That’s smart football. I’m sure his coaches all love having him make those kinds of decisions.”

There’s one underlying reason for Hurts’ success.

“Day 3 of posting Jalen Hurts work leading up to the Super Bowl,” Chip Smith wrote on Instagram @coachchipsmith. “Nobody’s worked harder.”

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