The days of Deshaun Watson terrorizing defenses ended with the walk-off score that few will ever forget in last year’s National Championship game. Now, Dabo Swinney’s man-at-the-helm is junior quarterback, Kelly Bryant, who has done well to fill the giant’s shoes left behind by Watson. With that said, however, he is no Deshaun Watson. And while he has been good, Jalen Hurts has been even better and has twice as much experience.
Yes, you read that right. Hurts has been an excellent quarterback this year despite some popular beliefs.
A weaker-than-normal SEC West led to an unusually high amount of blowouts for the Crimson Tide, and with that came less playing time for the sophomore quarterback. Nevertheless, the numbers don’t lie. Brian Daboll has very clearly helped Hurts improve as a pocket passer.
Over the course of the 2017 campaign, Hurts has thrown nearly 160 less passes than he did a season ago under Lane Kiffin – 224 attempts compared to last year’s 382. Despite that, nearly every other category has seen a rather drastic improvement. Last season, Hurts averaged 7.3 yards per attempt due in large part to Kiffin’s love of quick screens and sweep tosses. This year, though, Daboll has returned Hurts’ focus back downfield, highlighted by his improved 9.0 yards per attempt average.
As one would expect, fewer passes meant fewer yards and fewer scores, and by running fewer screens and tosses his completion rate did see a 2.1% drop. However, throwing for 2,005 yards on just 136 completions is fairly impressive, and his 60.2% completion rate is far from unsatisfactory in Daboll’s scheme.
Where I personally found the most improvements in Hurts’ game is his ability to get the ball into the endzone through the air. Despite the nearly 160 less attempts than a season ago, he still managed to post 15 touchdowns and only a single interception. Ten different receivers hauled in touchdown passes this year, though some came by way of Tua in garbage time. Hurts’ pocket presence faded into oblivion when in the redzone during his first year, but this season has been different. Watch as he keeps his eyes downfield during this two-point conversion vs. Florida State:
For those worried about his deep ball, watch him hit Ridley here on this deep post:
Of course, one cannot discuss Hurts without mentioning his elite running ability. Few can match his combination of strength and elusiveness when running the football. This season he turned 137 rushing attempts into 763 yards and eight touchdowns.
The most notable flaw in Hurts’ game – outside of the sometimes questionable playcalling out of his control – is that he does have a tendency to give up on plays too early. His athleticism is elite, no doubt, and he should use it whenever possible. However, the greatest ‘dual threats’ in history keep their eyes downfield as they run around in the backfield, looking for someone to come open at the last moment. Instead, he tucks his head, and the ball, giving up any chance of being able to throw.
Kelly Bryant has not been a bad quarterback by any means for the top-ranked Tigers in his first year, but he does occasionally leave a bit to be desired. His numbers represent that, too.
Bryant threw 362 passes this season, nearly 140 more than was asked of Hurts, and played in one additional game. Despite this, he posted a rather below-average TD:INT ratio with just 13 TD’s to 6 INT’s. Bryant totaled 2,678 yards on the season and 7.4 yards per attempt, but did complete 67.4% of his passes.
His foot speed, on the other hand, is also one of the best in all of college football. He tallied 646 yards and 11 scores on 173 attempts. He managed 117 yards less than Hurts and did so in spite of posting 36 more carries. One reason for his less-than-stellar season could be that this was his first year as a starter so Swinney and Co. tried to play call safely. Another reason could be the loss of Mike Williams to April’s Draft – a star wide receiver who even had to bail out Watson time and again.
Either way, the numbers don’t lie and even just by way of the eye test, Jalen Hurts has looked like the better of the two this year. This, of course, is new territory for Alabama who has yet to hold the quarterback advantage in the trilogy. With Saban’s ability to game-plan and Hurts’ bevvy of big-game experience, this could finally be Brian Daboll’s big breakout game as the offensive playcaller.
