Jalen Hurts to Maryland turned out to nothing more than a pipe dream. The former Alabama quarterback has decided to transfer to Oklahoma. He made the announcement in a blog with the Players’ Tribune.
The connection between Hurts and Maryland was logic, as his co-offensive coordinator at Alabama Mike Locksley’s was named the head coach of the Terrapins. Their relationship was described as being good, even though Hurts was eventually benched for Tua Tagovailoa.
Hurts visited Maryland on Friday, including attending the Maryland’s men basketball team’s win over Indiana. However, he also visited Oklahoma the next day and Miami (FL) Sunday.
In the end, Oklahoma had too much to offer compared to Maryland. Under head coach Lincoln Riley, the Sooners have produced the last two Heisman Trophy quarterbacks — Baker Mayfield in 2017, Kyler Murray in 2018. Mayfield became the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and Murray, who has officially declared, is expected to be a first-round selection in 2019.
Hurts had a magical first two seasons at Alabama. He completed 61.9 percent of his passes for a total of 4,861 yards, throwing 40 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions. He added 1,809 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns, guiding the Crimson Tide to back-to-back National Championship game appearances before he was benched in the second half of the 2018 title game.
Last season, he backed up Tagovailoa but completed 72.9 percent of his passes mostly in mop up time with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. As a grad transfer, Hurts became arguably the biggest transfer free agent in college football history.
Unfortunately for Maryland, they missed out on a top prospect. Locksley will have to regroup in his first year as the head coach having a solid group of weapons on the offensive end with question marks surrounding the quarterback position.
Last year’s starter Kasim Hill will more than likely miss the 2019 season with his second torn ACL in two years. The pegged starter is Tyrrell Pigrome, who is a dual-threat but has his fair share of struggles as a passer. redshirt junior Max Bortenschlager and redshirt freshman Tyler DeSue are the other quarterbacks currently on the team.
