Consistent encouragement and reinforcement go a long way into helping someone grow into becoming something special. For Jalen Hurts, the Alabama quarterback was in constant communication with his offensive coordinator (Lane Kiffin) as a freshman to where looking toward the sideline for guidance was all he had to do.
The comfort and tangible teachings from Kiffin led to Hurts winning Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2016. He would go on to assist the Crimson Tide a conference championship and a College Football Playoff appearance, despite falling to Clemson in the title game.
His struggles with Brian Daboll in the following season stemmed from the long-time NFL assistant keeping his head in his play calling sheet.
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Daboll was not one for interpersonal communication and seeing how Hurts did not have that face he could look to, he had issues developing confidence in the passing game. Despite having a role as a backup this season, the junior has witnessed his confidence as a complete signal caller and leader come full circle.
Prior to his first day of developing Alabama’s quarterback room, yours truly of Touchdown Alabama Magazine spoke with Gary Enos during the summer on how his brother – Dan – would coach that group and get the most from everyone.
“First off, what Dan is going to do is make the quarterback position the most mentally tough one on the field,” Enos said. “When the quarterback steps into the huddle and speaks, everyone needs to shut up. Secondly, he will fine-tune Jalen Hurts’ mechanics as a passer and overall player.”
As the Tide finds itself in the CFP for a fifth time, both of Enos’ contributions have come to fruition.
Hurts received the “Most Inspiring Player” Award at the school’s annual banquet and he’s completed 74.6 (50 of 67) percent of his throws for 755 yards with eight touchdowns to two interceptions. He cemented his name to be forever remembered as a legend, when he came off the bench to navigate the team to a 35-28 win over Georgia in the SEC championship game.
Even with Tua Tagovailoa expected to start, Hurts will have some opportunities to enter Saturday’s matchup with Oklahoma and make plays. He could not have re-written his script without Enos; however, the first-year assistant in Tuscaloosa said the credit goes to Hurts.
“We started with his grip,” Enos said in Thursday’s media session on Hurts.
“We changed his grip a little bit. We videotaped him in the spring. His drop and his throwing mechanics… We look at those after the summer. We analyzed those and gave him some drills to work on to sharpen up his mechanics. After that, it was on him. From the spring until now, the way he has developed as a passer has been really fun to watch.”
Enos said Hurts “has bought in” to everything being taught to him; nevertheless, he mentions that a “drive to be great” is what he loves about the entire quarterback room.
“This comes from the head football coach and it permeates down to the rest of us on how to never be satisfied,” he said.
Nothing wrong with showing some love toward Nick Saban as he compliments Hurts, but Enos knows the season is not over. After he was done wrong at Arkansas, the 50-year-old is in search of his first national championship. He looks to first take care of the Sooners at Hard Rock Stadium with Tagovailoa, Hurts and the rest of the crew.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
