Alabama’s Hurts sounds off on quarterback controversy

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jalen Hurts finally got to give his own take on Alabama’s much talked about quarterback situation.

Since getting benched for the second half of the national title game, the two-year starter with the sparkling record has had to remain silent publicly about the situation. Hurts was blunt in his first chance to speak with reporters since the aftermath of that game in Atlanta at Saturday’s media day.

“This whole spring ever since the game, (coaches) kind of wanted to let it play out and I guess didn’t think it was a thing to let it die down like there wasn’t something there,” Hurts said. “But that’s always been the elephant in the room. For me, no one came up to me the whole spring, coaches included, no one asked me how I felt.

“No one asked me what was on my mind. No one asked me how I felt about the things that were going on. Nobody asked me what my future held. That’s that. So now it’s like when we try to handle the situation now, for me, it’s kind of late, it’s too late, the narrative has already been created.”

The narrative is that he and Tua Tagovailoa are engaged in college football’s most talked about quarterback battle. Then-freshman Tagovailoa came off the bench in the second half to lift Alabama to a come-from-behind win over Georgia, heaving the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime .

And the Jalen-vs.-Tua buzz hasn’t died down. They spoke to separate groups of reporters at the same time not far from each other.

Hurts’ father, Averion, said in the spring that if Hurts didn’t win the job, he’d become the “biggest free agent in college football history.”

Asked at Southeastern Conference media days if Hurts would be with the team for the opener against Louisville, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said he had “no idea”.

Then he told ESPN that Hurts later came to him and said he was staying.

Hurts said that’s not exactly how it went down.

“I actually went to talk to him about his comments (from SEC Media Days) on if he didn’t know I’d be here for the first game,” Hurts said. “We had a conversation about that. I was kind of shocked that he said that. I told him in June, that I’d be here.”

Hurts, who is 26-2 as a starter with two playoff trips, said it wouldn’t make much sense to leave when he’s scheduled to graduate in December.