HELPING HURTS
Sooners hoping Hurts and Riley make the perfect match
NORMAN — Jalen Hurts must feel like a member of Spinal Tap.
But instead of a litany of drummers, the new Oklahoma quarterback has gone through a long list of quarter back coaches and offensive coordinators during his college career.
There was Lane K if fin, but he was fired between the College Football Playoff semifinals and the title game. Steve Sarkisian took over for that game. Then there was Brian Daboll, Mike Locksley and Dan Enos.
Now, it's Lincoln Riley's turn to serve those roles for
Hurts, the heavy favorite to start at quarterback for the Sooners.
For Riley, it has been a different experience. He's had unprecedented success with transfer quarterbacks.
But while Baker Mayfield and then Kyle rM ur ray eventually became Heisman Trophy winners under Riley's stewardship, each had time at Oklahoma to get acclimated before they were asked to carry the load.
“The timeline has been different, there's no doubt about it,” Riley said Friday, when the Sooners reported one day before preseason camp begins .“I think the biggest adjustment is just continuing to spend time with him off the field and just getting to know each other. You can progress and teach it and it's been effective in the past because there's been
great r el ati onships behind that and a lot of trust built up behind that.
“Tome, the story' s not so much of trying to get him caught up learning the offense, it's more trying to build the relationship and trust that a lot of times takes years and years — whether that's trust with me, with other coaches, with the players, that to me is the whole deal. I think if that can be developed at a high level, the scheme stuff will come. We can get that taught.”
Hurts' team mates, most notably leading returning receiver Cee Dee Lamb, have been effusive in their praise of Hurts as a leader and a teammate.
Now, the most important part of the dynamic that Riley talked about is the relationship between quarterback and coach.
“I'd say you have to force it because of the short time I'm here and how much I have to take in before we get into game play,” Hurts said. “Definitely a different relationship from coaches I've had in the past, but I think that relationship can take us a long way. I think it can take this team a long way.”
Even though it's just for a season, Hurts at least can be relatively certain that Riley will see the team through the end of it. That wasn't always the case at Alabama.
“I think having ahead coach as your position coach does change a lot ,” Hurts said. “(It's) a little different, because my last coach, coach ( Nick) Saban, was a defensive-minded coach, so maybe it wasn't as hands- on from him. But he dang sure had a big impact on me. Here with Coach Riley, I'm anxious to see how that goes throughout the season as far as communication during games, whatever it is.”
Those past short-term relationships with the coaches from Kiffin to Enos, will help Hurts find comfort quickly with Riley.
“I'm stronger, I'm wiser, much more mature,” Hurts said .“I' ve seen it all. I' ve kind of always been a stoic guy — don't let much get to me. But I think taking those things, those learning experiences, as opportunities to l earn and get better. … We have a lot of opportunities here at Oklahoma to do great things as a team. We just want to take it all in and attack it the right way and use it to our advantage.”