Eagles QB Jalen Hurts may actually be the new Tom Brady

NEW ORLEANS — Jalen Hurts doesn’t rattle. Not in the face of a blitz, not under the heat of criticism, not even, famously when, back at the University of Alabama, he was benched at halftime of the national title game.

His demeanor is a rock. His words are thoughtful. His pursuit of improvement is unrelenting. His commitment is to winning above everything — even playing time.

Late Sunday night, after being named Super Bowl MVP for leading the Philadelphia Eagles past the Kansas City Chiefs, after outplaying no less than Patrick Mahomes, Hurts was asked about his unusual football story of ups and downs, historic starts and then uncertain restarts, about finally coming out on top.

His face froze. His voice caught — understandable for anyone, yet unexpected because he is him.

“I'm that same kid that went to the national championship and lost and went back and got benched and had to transfer,” Hurts said. “Had to go through this just unprecedented journey. That kid always kept the main thing the main thing and always was true to his vision of what he saw.”

One of the major storylines heading into the Super Bowl was Mahomes' pursuit of Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback of all time. By the end, it was a reminder that Hurts may actually be the new Brady — not in comparing career accomplishments (this was just Hurts' first Super Bowl title, after all), but in his roller-coaster ride to greatness.

Their paths are similar through the college uncertainties, draft snubs and early career distrust. They share an unwavering belief in self in the face of critics and a drive for incremental improvement that makes seemingly anything possible.

Brady was the seventh-string quarterback as a freshman at the University of Michigan. When he finally found the field his second year, his first pass was a pick 6. After Year 3 and little time on the field, he told his coach, Lloyd Carr, he was transferring only to have Carr challenge him to stay and prove himself.

“If you walk away now, you’ll always wish you stayed to compete,” Carr told him.

Brady stayed, only to spend most of the next two seasons having to split the starting job with high profile local recruit Drew Henson. Brady was far better and proved it, but when NFL teams considered drafting him, the nagging doubt remained.

If he was so good, why wasn’t he the full-time starter?

Going 199th overall in the draft proved to fuel Brady’s entire career, a chip on the shoulder that remained no matter how many Super Bowls were won.

Hurts was the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Alabama in 32 seasons. He led them to the national title game that year. The next season he got them back, only to be benched at halftime for Tua Tagovailoa, who promptly led the Crimson Tide to a championship winning comeback.

Hurts could have pouted. He could have quit. He did neither. In the moment, he was supportive and encouraged Tagovailoa from the sidelines and then, after the season, decided to return to Tuscaloosa to compete for the starting job.

He got beat out, but dedicated himself to becoming the best backup in America. In the SEC championship game that year, he returned the favor by replacing an injured Tagovailoa and leading the Tide to victory.

It was enough that even Nick Saban got emotional.

“Jalen’s shown great character and resiliency as a person, shown a lot of class in the way he’s handled the situation that’s unprecedented in college football,” Saban said at the time. “But the one thing he did was focus on getting better as a player. He’s made a lot of improvement.”

Hurts did have to find a starting job, of course, and headed to Oklahoma, where he led the Sooners to the Big 12 title, a spot in the College Football Playoff and second-place in voting for the Heisman.

And yet, the question remained. If he was so good, why did he lose that starting job at Alabama? He went 53rd overall to Philly in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Brady’s early career was as a backup, then a game manager. Hurts was the same (behind Carson Wentz), and then he was questioned as a passer. No matter. It’s not just that both players proved the critics wrong. They did it by working on their weaknesses. They got better, seemingly every game.

Brady has seven Super Bowls titles. This isn’t about how much gets accomplished; it’s about how it is being accomplished.

If you know anything about Jalen Hurts though, winning one Super Bowl is not going to be the end for him. He is just 26, with skills to build on. Where once Brady was not considered an elite quarterback — that was Peyton Manning — he eventually became one and more.

Who knows what Hurts is capable of doing. What’s clear is that the college frustrations and failures that once seemingly defined him actually fueled him.

“It’s a journey of ups and downs and highs and lows,” Hurts said. “I’ve always stayed true to myself and have this vision of being the best that I can be.”

What happened to him in college didn’t actually hold him back, it has rocketed him forward and forward still.

“It’s only the beginning until it's the end,” Hurts said. “The end ain’t coming any time soon.”

It all sounds so familiar.