Following Alabama’s 35-28 win over Georgia in the SEC championship game, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban gave a touching tribute to his quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Alabama football coach Nick Saban is nearly brought to tears when discussing Jalen Hurts coming in and leading his team to an SEC title.
What a wild game and incredible moment. pic.twitter.com/guUjdlbobL
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) December 2, 2018
“I’m so proud of this guy,” Saban said choking back tears as he pointed to back-up quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Hurts led the Crimson Tide to a fourth quarter comeback following an injury to starter and Heisman frontrunner Tua Tagovailoa. (RELATED: Jalen Hurts’ Future With Alabama Takes A Very Unexpected Turn)
According to Saban, Tagovailoa sprained his ankle in the first quarter of Saturday’s game, and will be reevaluated on Sunday.
Nick Saban’s postgame comment on Tua Tagovailoa: pic.twitter.com/p9eXlbOL18
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) December 2, 2018
But the story of this game wasn’t Tua’s injury, it was Hurts’ resiliency. After being benched for Tua in the national championship game against Georgia a year ago, Hurts could have pouted and left the program. But the junior quarterback decided to stick with his program and on Saturday he answered the call.
Hurts’ future is still very much up in the air, but his place in college football history is secure.