WATCH: Jalen Hurts tells story behind video of him squatting 600 pounds at Oklahoma
People are often surprised when they discover how much Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts can squat. That was the case when Hurts arrived at Oklahoma in 2019 and shocked teammates and fans alike when a video surfaced of him squatting 600 pounds in the Sooners weight room.
Appearing on Monday Night Football’s Manningcast with Peyton and Eli Manning, Hurts was asked whether he regularly lifts that much or if it was just for show. The quarterback responded by saying that he still lifts heavy, even surprising Eagles center Jason Kelce.
“What’s funny is, Jason Kelce sometimes gives me a hard time about, sometimes he catches me squatting the same amount of weight he’s squatting in the weight room,” Hurts said. “He’s like, ‘What are you doing this for?’ …For real, I did that (at Oklahoma) because I was new to the team and new in Norman.”
CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel
It makes sense that Hurts would have plenty of strength in his legs, as he is one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the NFL. His four rushing touchdowns so far this year rank first among all quarterbacks, and his 205 yards rushing is second behind only Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson.
Hurts is on pace for his best NFL season so far, as he also has 1,120 yards and four touchdowns through the air. The Eagles are off to a 4-0 start will hope to keep it up when they take on the Cardinals at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Jalen Hurts compares himself to Nick Saban
Jalen Hurts sees a lot of himself in Alabama coach Nick Saban, whom he played under for the first three seasons of his college career. Earlier in Monday night’s Manningcast, Hurts revealed that Saban was the No. 1 reason he committed to the Crimson Tide as a high school senior.
“Coach Saban, I don’t think people realize how alike we are,” he said. “That was really the deciding factor of me going to Alabama out of high school is because I saw so much of myself in him. I was like, ‘I like everything about it. I like everything he’s doing. I want to go win a championship.’”
Hurts’ vision of winning a title would technically come true, just not the way he likely imagined it. Alabama won the national championship during his sophomore season, but Hurts was benched in the second half for true freshman Tua Tagovailoa.
He returned next season as the backup to Tagovailoa before ultimately transferring to Oklahoma in 2019 to play under Lincoln Riley. There he led the Sooners to a Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff appearance before being taken in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
But while Jalen Hurts’ career at Alabama didn’t end the way he wanted, he’ll forever cherish the lessons learned under Nick Saban.