Hurts arrived at OU as a quality passer
Nick Basquine heard that Jalen Hurts was coming to Oklahoma, and Basquine heard what we all heard. That Hurts was a heck of a quarterback
but not necessarily that Hurts was a great thrower. That Hurts could be a fantastic test case for Lincoln Riley's reputation as a quarterback whisperer.
“The narrative is that he's not a natural thrower,” said Basquine, a six-year Sooner receiver. “I heard that, but I didn't pay much attention. I wanted to see for myself. He definitely can throw better than people label him.”
Uh, no kidding. Numbskulls like me theorized that Hurts, upon an Alabama exodus, would be a great fit at the likes of Kansas State or TCU, where precise passing is optional. I said it only on the radio and not in print, for generations to laugh at.
Of course, what we saw Sunday night against Houston was total annihilation of such nonsense. Riley, for all his Midas touches, didn't transform a duck into a swan, a hack into a goldenarmed quarterback. Maybe Riley is refining Hurts to some degree, but a passer who in a season opener misfires on only one of 23 passes and completes 20 of them is not the product of an extreme makeover, quarterback edition.
The goods were there to start with.
“I've said it forever and I wasn't just posturing,” Riley said this week. “I'm not gonna take a guy here who can't throw. I mean, that's not gonna happen. Now, the capability, transforming that into doing it, is two totally different things. But watching him and then visiting with him, I didn't feel like there was anything physically or anything mentally that was gonna keep him from doing very well with it.”
Hurts in three Alabama seasons completed 62.9 percent of his passes, with 48 touchdowns and 12
interceptions, with a passer rating of 148.8.
In three Southern Cal seasons, Sam Darnold completed 64.9 percent of his passes, with 57 touchdowns and 22 interceptions, with a passer rating of 153.7. Was Darnold a project going to the New York Jets?
So why did we think Hurts was a project coming to Norman?
“If he was the thrower that some people made him out to be, he wouldn't even be the starter here right now,” Riley said. “He's capable. And again, it was one game. He's gotta continue to prove it, but there's no doubt he can do it. No doubt.”
Riley said he didn't watch much tape of Hurts' first two years at Alabama, that he had seen enough of his 2018 season, when Hurts wasn't even the Bama starter, to know that Hurts was capable. Hurts' throws against Houston were not so different from the throws he was asked to make at Alabama.
“Maybe a few subtle differences, but not just anything crazy different,” Riley said. “I mean, he was decisive and I thought kinda got settled in there and started cutting it loose a little bit. But just physically, the throws? There are a few that he made that I don't remember seeing him make much at Alabama, but not a huge gap in between, I would say.”
Not that eight months with Riley is inconsequential. Riley's sensei reputation is well-deserved and evergreen.
Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray both had the tools before they got to Norman, but Riley sharpened their skills and developed an offense for the ages around them. Now he's doing the same with Hurts, who was not a hack at Alabama, no matter what some of us clowns thought. Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.