Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs the ball against Houston during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Norman, Okla., Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
NORMAN — It’s a small sample size, and the only data to go on – a terribly porous opposing defense – shouldn’t be considered all that reliable.
But early indications suggest Jalen Hurts will be just fine as the Oklahoma quarterback.
In fact, after the No. 4-ranked Sooners pounded Houston 49-31 on Sunday night at Memorial Stadium, it’s not preposterous to suggest Hurts has begun to take his place in Lincoln Riley’s abbreviated pantheon of great quarterbacks. Maybe even a Heisman trip to New York?
Easy to put the schooner before the Shetland here, but for one game, at least, Hurts was that good.
“He played good. He played good,” coach Lincoln Riley said. “Several things he can do better. Thought he handled the moment good. You could tell out there that he’d been in it. I’m sure he had some nerves, but he did a sound job managing the game well.”
Hurts, the senior graduate transfer from Alabama, played more than good. He rushed for 176 yards – second-most in school history for a quarterback (behind Thomas Lott’s mark of 195 set in 1976) at a school where Lott and the rest of Barry Switzer’s wishbone wizards mastered the triple-option.
To read the rest of John E. Hoover’s report for Sporting News, click here:
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