Nick Saban and Alabama football fans are very proud of Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith.
The two represented the University of Alabama in a first-class way as students.
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Hurts, a quarterback, assisted the Crimson Tide to two Southeastern Conference Championships, including one against Georgia in 2018. He came off the bench to replace an injured Tua Tagovailoa, propelling the Tide to a 35-28 victory.
Hurts was the starting quarterback for the 2017 Alabama team that won a College Football Playoff National Championship.
Smith, a wide receiver, accomplished everything in Tuscaloosa. He captured several individual awards, including being the first Alabama receiver to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy. Smith made the iconic, 41-yard touchdown catch as a freshman to deliver the Crimson Tide to a national championship over Georgia. He returned three years later with a masterful CFP National Championship Game performance against Ohio State. Both players are going to the Super Bowl for the Philadelphia Eagles; however, Smith credits the focused mentality he and Hurts have as pros to what they learned from Saban at Alabama.
“It’s amazing. But the job is not done”
I asked DeVonta Smith where that mentality comes from. He always says the job is not done like Jalen Hurts
“Bama” pic.twitter.com/bFiK1yb4Ag
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) January 30, 2023
“It is amazing from OTAs to camp to now that everyone came in and did the things they were supposed to do, but the job is not done yet,” Smith said to Eagles’ reporters after winning the NFC Championship Game.
Hurts kept the same focused mindset after a 31-7 victory in Sunday’s matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.
“It is always fun winning,” Smith said. “Winning is always fun.”
Smith’s answer to where his and Hurts’ mentality comes from was simple … “Bama.”
Alabama’s winning culture under Saban is in the National Football League. Hurts, Smith, Landon Dickerson, and Josh Jobe represent the Crimson Tide in Super Bowl 57 as the Eagles will face the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 12.
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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.
