Nick Saban Reveals List of 3 Programs He Wanted Jalen Hurts to Consider as Transfer Destinations

Jalen Hurts' collegiate career is one of the strangest in recent memory. The 2016 SEC Offensive Player of the Year looked poised to be the long-term at quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide, but he was benched in the 2018 National Championship Game, and never regained the job full time.

Instead, he transferred to the Oklahoma Sooners, where he went on to have a career-best season and finish as a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2019. And apparently, the decision to transfer to Oklahoma was one that Nick Saban not only agreed with, but recommended.

Speaking in an interview with the Philadelphia Eagles (the team that drafted Hurts), Saban shed some light into Hurts' decision. Apparently, Hurts came to Saban to tell him he was deciding between transferring to Miami, Maryland and Oklahoma. Saban made it sound simple, recommending that Hurts transfer to Oklahoma, because it was the most-talented program.

One season, 53 total touchdowns and a Heisman Trophy runner-up later, it's safe to say Hurts made the right choice. And it seems he, at least partially, has Saban to thank for that.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.