Jalen Hurts Plans to Only Work Out as QB at 2020 NFL Scouting Combine

Jalen Hurts has no interest in switching positions and will only work out at quarterback at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine.

"He wants to show people that he's a quarterback," trainer Chip Smith told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "That's the big thing. There is talk about other positions and that kind of stuff. ... He's a great athlete. He played in two national championships. He's got more film than any of the other quarterback out there ... he's a quarterback."

Hurts has little reason to work out at anything other than quarterback, given that's the position he's played his entire collegiate career. However, it's possible teams would have wanted to see how he'd fare running routes or out of the backfield because of his athletic ability. ESPN's Mel Kiper recently described Hurts as a Taysom Hill-type player at the next level.

Hurts has compared himself to Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, pointing to their respective successes under center. 

"They have the ability to make things happen with their arms and their legs," Hurts told reporters at the Senior Bowl. "I think I'm a player that's capable of doing that regardless of what's what. I'm going to execute. I want to be efficient at whatever I'm doing."

Hurts finished his college career with 9,477 yards and 80 touchdowns against 20 interceptions passing the ball, along with 3,274 yards and 43 scores on the ground. While he doesn't have Jackson's generational speed and agility at the position or Allen's combination of size, speed and arm strength, Hurts was a far better passer than either of them showed at the collegiate level.

Hurts will likely wind up being a second- or third-day selection for a team eying him as a developmental project. If his athletic numbers pop at the combine, a team could take a chance on him in the second or third round in hopes he can be effective in a role like Hill's before taking over as a full-time quarterback. 

"I think that when he gets an opportunity, he may sit like some guys have done in the past," Smith said. "But when he gets his opportunity, he's going to absolutely be ready. He's a leader."