Jalen Hurts on Jalen Milroe: ‘He's paved himself a great journey at the University of Alabama’

After he had accounted for four touchdowns and 491 yards of total offense in Alabama’s 41-34 victory over Georgia in an SEC showdown on Sept. 28, Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe fielded questions from reporters while wearing a Jalen Hurts T-shirt.

During his press conference on Wednesday, Hurts, now the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, was asked if he had noted the gesture by Milroe.

“I got a text of him wearing the shirt,” Hurts said. “I don’t know what he said but got a ton of respect for Jalen. You know, hell of a player, hell of a player. Another Houston kid coming out of there. Coach (Nick) Saban went back to Houston to go get him, and he’s paved himself a great journey at the University of Alabama, so I’m excited for him and hoping that he can finish the year off strong. Got a lot of love and respect for him.”

Hurts played for Alabama in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons after joining the Tide from Channelview High School. Milroe played at Tompkins High School. The two high schools are about 45 miles apart on opposite sides of Houston.

What Milroe said after the Georgia game about Hurts was:

“Jalen Hurts is a great person to look at when it comes to handling adversity, when it comes to playing the position. I’m a Texas kid. He’s a Texas kid, and he was one of the reasons why I came to the University of Alabama. If we look back when Alabama played Georgia (in the 2018 SEC Championship Game), Jalen Hurts stepped in at the end of the game, so I wanted to represent him today.

“He’s out there watching: Hey, Jalen Hurts. But, nah, I love Jalen Hurts. I think he’s a great quarterback and I just wanted to represent him today.”

Both quarterbacks will be in action this weekend with their teams coming off a loss.

Alabama will play South Carolina at 11 a.m. CDT Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. ABC will televise the game. The Crimson Tide lost to Vanderbilt 40-35 last week.

The Eagles will play the Cleveland Browns at noon Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The Eagles lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-16 on Sept. 29. Philadelphia had an open date last week.