Former Oklahoma, Alabama QB Jalen Hurts joins historically exclusive club with Super Bowl 59 win

While former Alabama star DeVonta Smith failed to join the uber-elusive club of winning a Heisman Trophy, National Championship, and Super Bowl MVP Award, he still managed to add a second ring to his collection. Instead of Smith winning Super Bowl 59 MVP, his former college teammate, Jalen Hurts, brought home the hardware.

It’s safe to say neither is disappointed in the aftermath of the Philadelphia Eagles’ 40-22 drubbing of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Some quarterbacks, including Patrick Mahomes, can’t make the claim of winning a title at both levels. We have to go back to Troy Aikman to find the last collegiate national champion to have won Super Bowl MVP. It’s been 40 years since Aikman won at Oklahoma, and he split time with Jamelle Holieway as a starter that season.

Hurts finished second in the 2019 Heisman Trophy race after he left Alabama for Oklahoma. He had previously won a National Championship with the Crimson Tide in 2017 before losing his starting job to Tua Tagovailoa. Hurts has climbed the mountain several times before, even if some setbacks and rough patches filled the roadway to get there.

Never mind that Hurts was benched at the end of Alabama’s title-winning game because he wasn’t a reliable enough passer or that Philadelphia lost Super Bowl 57 to a similar Chiefs team. Or that he was a second-round pick who was doubted despite rapid improvements with the Sooners under Lincoln Riley.

Now, Hurts has joined an exclusive club of former college football champions to win a Super Bowl and be the MVP. Completing 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards, two touchdowns, and adding 72 yards and a rushing score, Hurts provided everything the Eagles needed, just as he was once the centerpiece of Oklahoma’s 12-2 season in 2019.

It’s a continued path for Hurts where winning has come naturally. While he didn’t win a Heisman and couldn’t bring a title to Norman, Hurts has overcome and continually grown along the way. His remarkable improvement from his freshman season at Alabama to his Super Bowl 59 victory.

No Eagles quarterback had previously made two Super Bowl appearances, but the 26-year-old Hurts has. He reached the pinnacle of college football in various roles and got better each season. The same has happened in Philadelphia, and Hurts has his own unique claim to football history.