By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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When talking about modern college football, Jalen Hurts might as well do the voice-over.

With generational production, unwavering leadership and an extraordinary story, Jalen Hurts is one of college football’s most remarkable quarterbacks ever. A respected captain for two iconic programs, he, from SEC Offensive Player of the Year as a freshman at Alabama to Heisman Trophy runner-up as a senior at Oklahoma, has a legacy like no other. Hurts has more than just memories, here, he has a movie. This is a script, by the way, still being written.

Ahead of another trip to Atlanta, Hurts, often at his best on the big stage, is 5-0 in the Empire City of the South. Two of the most pivotal and defining points of his career came in the same spot where the Sooners will soon meet LSU in the anticipated Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Approaching, the next chapter awaits.

All that Hurts has done, just statistically, needs historical framing. Entering the College Football Playoff, he has 9,260 career passing yards and 80 passing touchdowns and 3,231 career rushing yards and 41 rushing scores, not to mention two catches for 25 yards and one trip to the endzone, good for a total of 12,516 yards and 122 touchdowns. He is, without question, one of the game’s most productive players ever. Hurts is one of just five players this millennium to reach the 9,000-yard passing/3,000-yard rushing mark. Recently, Hurts moved into the all-time top 25 for total touchdowns scored.

This season, alone, the recent Heisman Trophy runner-up leads the nation in yards per pass attempt with 11.8, the highest rate in modern history, ranking third with an overall quarterback rating of 200.28; a year ago, Tua Tagovailoa set the game’s single-season record with a final margin of 199.44. In addition to slotting sixth nationally with 3,634 passing yards and tenth with 32 passing touchdowns, Hurts ranks in the top 20 with 1,255 rushing yards and seventh with 18 rushing scores. He leads arguably the most dynamic offense in the country, with the Sooners averaging 554.2 yards per game. Hurts, for that famed unit, has done it all.

The only three players the last two decades with 3,600 yards passing and 1,200 yards rushing in one year: Hurts and Heisman winners Lamar Jackson and Johnny Manziel.

Even with almost unparalleled production, the numbers that truly stand out with Hurts are wins. Few, ever, have more. At contenders Alabama and Oklahoma, he has gone a combined 38-3 in 41 career starts. Already with a national championship ring, two SEC titles and a Big XII crown, Hurts, with a resume for the ages, will soon play in his fourth consecutive College Football Playoff. Under the bright lights is where Hurts belongs.

When talking about modern college football, Hurts might as well do the voice-over.

As Hurts heads to Atlanta, memories will follow. One of the transient points of his career, the 2017 national championship game against Georgia, still stands as a poignant crossroads, one that will forever be a testament to both Hurts’ talent and virtue. After an ineffective first half, Hurts was replaced by the true freshman Tagovailoa; the rest, with his fill-in becoming a legend, is history. Though Hurts was on the sidelines for the second half, his constant composure and genuine support, for Tagovailoa and the rest of his teammates, helped validate Hurts as a college football icon. His selflessness is part of his story.

Almost one year later, Hurts’ patience and persistence again paid off. He, playing largely in a reserve role throughout the season up to that point, was called upon in the SEC Championship Game when Tagovailoa was struggling. Hurts rallied Alabama from a fourth quarter deficit, scoring two critical final period touchdowns, including the game-winner with 1:05 remaining, to lead the Crimson Tide to victory. It was a role reversal, though with the exact same pretense; simply put, Hurts was there for his team.

For Hurts at Alabama, his full-circle moment proved, fittingly, to be a spotlight. Atlanta, again, was where the cameras flashed. Get ready for more.

The Oklahoma experience has come with both more of the same and, statistically, just more. Thriving in Lincoln Riley’s offensive scheme, Hurts has added to the legacies of previous Heisman Trophy winners-turned-number-one-overall-NFL-Draft-picks Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Hurts, recently, finishing second in the voting for the most famous individual honor in sports, currently has a higher passer rating than his two accomplished and famed predecessors and more rushing touchdowns than they had in their signature showings combined.

There were those who wondered about Hurts’ transfer to Oklahoma and, despite the obvious success at Alabama, whether or not he would be successful as a downfield passer for the Sooners. As mentioned, Hurts hasn’t just followed in the footsteps of Mayfield and Murray, he has picked up the pace. Entering this season, no quarterback, ever, has finished the year with a higher passer rating than Hurts has right now. He has brought another element to Riley’s noteworthy production, with Hurts’ 18 rushing touchdowns being the program’s most since Samaje Perine’s freshman season. Oklahoma, once more, is making a run at a national championship.

By any and every measure, Hurts is having one of the greatest and most productive seasons in college football history.

To say Hurts will soon finish an unprecedented performance is not conjecture nor hyperbole. Never before has there been an FBS player with 3,800 passing yards and 1,300 rushing yards in a season. He, entering the LSU showdown in the semifinals, needs just 166 yards through the air and 45 yards on the ground to reach those milestones; for point of reference, Hurts currently averages 280 yards passing and 97 yards rushing per game. The playoffs are next with him already having scored 51 total touchdowns, the exact same number as Tiger quarterback Joe Burrow.

Fascinatingly and fortuitously, the Hurts-Burrow matchup awaits as a modern game showcase for the sport. Fresh off winning the Heisman Trophy, Burrow, with an incredible trek himself, has rewritten the conference and national record books this fall and has LSU positioned as the national number one seed. Hurts was the Heisman Trophy runner-up. A high-profile pairing with the Tigers is nothing new for him. Entering the year-end clash, Hurts is 3-0 all-time against LSU. His teams, furthermore, have gone 23-1 in his career against the SEC.

While four teams will soon compete for a national title, this tournament, in some ways, is about the exceptional journey of one astonishing player.

Simply put, this is one of the defining stories in college football history; Hurts set records, claimed rings and competed at the highest level for one famed superpower and has now gone to another and done the exact same thing. Along the way, he has proven to be a leader, a pioneer and, even through challenging moments and unique situations, the consummate teammate. Hurts, who has both won and won with grace, has a standout legacy at two of the game’s five winningest programs ever. He is beloved in Norman and Tuscaloosa alike.

From Texas, as a star prep quarterback, to Alabama and Oklahoma, Jalen Hurts has had a career beyond compre. His legacy, through those travels, has left an example to follow. His work will long be on display. With one, or two, more college games to go, Hurts has earned our undivided admiration and attention.