College Football: 25 Greatest Quarterbacks of the 21st century

Jalen Hurts is still in the midst of his college playing career, so it remains to be seen how far up this list he can move.

Hurts began his college career at Alabama, providing a dual-threat sparkplug and passing efficiency rarely seen in a Crimson Tide offense. As soon as he began his freshman season, many heralded it as the sign of things to come, as a new age in college football of the top powerhouses adopting fast-paced, spread offenses that sprinkled in run-pass options and entirely no-huddle possessions.

Oklahoma Sooners Football

As a first-year player in 2016, the Houston native threw for 2,780 yards, 23 touchdowns, and nine interceptions while rushing for 954 yards and 13 touchdowns. Both rushing marks set an Alabama school record for a quarterback. In the national title game, a 35-31 drama-filled loss to Clemson, Hurts completed only 13-of-31 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown while rushing 10 times for 63 yards.

Everyone today remembers the tale of the 2017 season, Hurts’ sophomore year: throwing for 2,089 yards, 17 touchdowns, and only one interception, leading the Crimson Tide past Clemson in the semifinals, 24-6, and then getting benched in the national title game against Georgia in favor of true freshman Tua Tagovailoa.

In a story of resilience that goes full circle, Hurts played the backup role for most of 2018 before coming off the bench (after Tagovailoa’s injury) to rescue Alabama’s season once again in the SEC title game against Georgia.

Hurts became one of the most high-profile transfer quarterbacks in college history after the 2018 season and after the NCAA’s relaxed rules for transfer players. Through the first games of the 2019 season, Hurts has been absurdly efficient and productive as OU’s potential third consecutive Heisman-winning quarterback. If he continues at this rate through the meat of the Sooners’ 2019 schedule, he will surely advance up these rankings.