The Oklahoma quarterback was persuaded to sign by Nick Saban.
Surprisingly, his former head coach Nick Saban gave him the advice to go to OU. Hurts had intended to enroll at Maryland or Miami, but after speaking with Saban, he changed his mind.
Who has the best offensive players? stated Saban. Hurts eventually acknowledged that it was Oklahoma,
and Saban recommended that he move there. And heck, I told him to do it despite the fact that we might have to play him.
In 2016, Hurts was named SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year, but Tua Tagovailoa won the starting job in the 2018 national championship game.
The next year, in their rematch against Georgia in the SEC Championship game, Tagavailoa would suffer an injury; Hurts would have to replace him, and he would win the game for Alabama.