SEC Championship Game Will Provide Alabama QB Jalen Hurts' Biggest Test Yet
ATLANTA — In 12 games, Jalen Hurts has evolved from a mysterious true freshman who could take the reins of the defending national champions into a college football phenomenon who not only led his team to an undefeated regular season but could earn a decent amount of Heisman Trophy love if he polishes off Florida in the SEC Championship Game Saturday afternoon.
He was already named one of 10 finalists for the 2016 Manning Award, given to the nation's top quarterback.
"Jalen, to be able to go through what he's gone through this year in terms of his development, his ability to be resilient, not get really upset when he has a bad play or something bad happens," head coach Nick Saban said on Sunday's teleconference. "He really has a resiliency just to come back and focus on the next play and try to learn from that mistake, doesn't get affected by things."
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
While Florida doesn't pose much of a threat offensively, it has the defense that's best suited to rattle the young Crimson Tide quarterback from Channelview, Texas.
"They're very disruptive, very athletic and have tremendous initial quickness up front," Saban said on Friday. "[Caleb] Brantley is as good of a player as anybody in college football at his position in terms of how difficult he is to block. That's what makes great defensive players. I think they run extremely well. As much I say about their front seven, their back end is probably as good as any we've played—especially when it comes to playing man-to-man in close coverage and making it difficult. You have to make tight throws."
The Gators boast the SEC's fourth-best run defense (133.64 yards per game), is giving up just 3.59 yards per carry, held Georgia's talented rushing attack to just 1.11 yards per rush in late October and has the ability to slow down the Crimson Tide's multidimensional rushing attack.
If that happens, Hurts will have to deal with the best secondary he's ever faced—including his own in practice.
The Gators lead the SEC and are third in the nation in pass defense (158 yards per game) and opponent passer rating (96.17), and they have given up the second-fewest passing touchdowns in the country (seven) behind Georgia State of all teams.
"Our players around him are going to have to play really well Saturday," Saban said. "They're going to have to play really well against a good defense. Quarterback is a really hard position to play if the people around you don't play well. If the left tackle can't block the defensive end, it's hard to play quarterback. If we can't run the ball effectively, it's hard to play quarterback when you're behind on down and distance all the time."
That hasn't bothered Hurts much this year, which has made a fan out of the coach on the opposite sideline Saturday afternoon.
"I love watching this guy," Gators head coach Jim McElwain said on Friday at the Georgia Dome. "Nothing ever bothers him."
That poise is something that McElwain traces back to Hurts being the son of a coach.
"Whatever just happened, he'll learn from it and move on," he said. "It doesn't affect him. I've never seen him show the emotion of disappointment when something goes not great. He is a great player now and will be a great player in this conference for years to come."
The Crimson Tide game plan is relatively simple. They run the ball in a variety of ways, get Hurts comfortable in the short passing game and take shots deep only when necessary.
This was never more apparent than in the Iron Bowl, via CFB Film Room:
Talented defensive backs Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson have the ability to get off blocks and make plays in space, and young linebacker David Reece has stepped in for the injured Jarrad Davis better than anyone expected.
"This guy is really playing good," McElwain said on Sunday's teleconference. "The thing I like is how he has taken over the communication piece and the study piece, what he needs to do to get everybody adjusted. He's tough to block. He does a great job of shedding blockers and getting under their pads. He's a good, solid tackler."
| USC | 30th | 54.5 | 118 | 32 | 4 |
| LSU | 12th | 52.6 | 107 | 114 | 1 |
| Auburn | 21st | 75.0 | 286 | 37 | 3 |
The SEC Championship Game seems like it'll be a snooze-fest due to Florida's offensive ineptitude (352.7 YPG) and injury list that reads like a novel. Those two issues have factored heavily into oddsmakers installing the Gators as 24-point underdogs on Saturday, per OddsShark.
For Alabama to roll, it'll be up to Hurts to be smart with the football, avoid getting rattled under pressure and minimize the number of chances he takes against the Gators secondary.
He better be ready.
This is a game in which he will have to play like an upperclassman, not a youngster who should have been going to prom six months ago. He's going to have to be patient, stay calm under pressure and not let the moment get too big for him—a lot like he did against LSU, when the Tide offense felt purposefully vanilla due to the Tigers never really threatening to turn the game sideways.
No pressure, kid.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats unless otherwise noted.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
