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All class: A tip of the cap to Jalen Hurts and Jacob Eason for showing maturity beyond their years
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There were two young quarterbacks who probably blew you away Monday night.
They were poised, they showed leadership and they did exactly what their teams needed them to do in that moment. They might’ve been college underclassmen, but make no mistake, they came across as mature adults. They behaved like how you’d want your son or daughter to act if they were put in that bright spotlight.
No, I’m not referencing true freshmen Tua Tagovailoa and Jake Fromm, who were both impressive on and off the field. I’m talking about their backups — the guys who were relegated to clipboard status while watching the teams they once led battle in a national championship game for the ages.
Jacob Eason and Jalen Hurts were the epitome of class Monday night.
Never mind the fact that neither played a down in the second half. Those two sophomores did everything and more to help their teams reach the pinnacle of the sport.
It wasn’t just saying some cliché response at a press conference. Eason and Hurts were, above all else, teammates. And they did it with their actions.
When Fromm walked through the Mercedes-Benz Stadium tunnel after losing in devastating fashion, who was waiting there to put his arm around him? Eason, of course:
Incredible moment with Jacob Eason waiting for Jake Fromm after the game. It epitomized the way he handled this year (via @ZachKleinWSB) pic.twitter.com/9MPPi6RZe2
— Saturday Down South (@SDS) January 10, 2018
When Tagovailoa threw a touchdown pass to get Alabama back in the game, who was the first one on the field to congratulate him? Hurts, of course:
First person to congratulate Tua — Jalen Hurts. pic.twitter.com/YAbc7cPaer
— Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) January 9, 2018
By now, you’ve probably seen or read about both of those sequences. And if you haven’t, well, at least now you have.
Those are the type of things that made Alabama and Georgia what they were in 2017. Those are the type of things that could easily divide a locker room. Instead, they made two championship-caliber programs that much closer.
Neither did anything to take away attention from the team, which seems rare nowadays. It was a year earlier that because of Hurts’ emergence, Alabama lost two quarterbacks via transfer before the Playoff semifinal matchup. Blake Barnett left in the middle of the season while Cooper Bateman put his transfer plans in motion immediately following the SEC Championship.
Hurts obviously wasn’t in that same exact position. His transfer discussion will dominate the offseason headlines, though given his team-first attitude, I wouldn’t be surprised if he elects for a position change instead of leaving Tuscaloosa.
Eason, on the other hand, could’ve been like Barnett or Bateman. It wouldn’t have surprised people if Eason announced he was leaving back in November. Instead, not a peep came out about his transfer decision until after the national championship.
RELATED: Report: Jacob Eason plans to transfer to Washington
All you heard was quotes like Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney saying that Eason “handled this situation as good as any human being could ever handle it,” even though this new reality had to be difficult on him. Let’s not forget that just 2 years ago, Eason was the 5-star recruit that Kirby Smart had to keep on board. Just one year ago, Eason was the true freshman starter expected to take a big leap in Year 2.
He was peppered with questions before the Rose Bowl about how different his career has been because of the injury he suffered in the season opener. His answer said it all.
“In football you’re going to deal with adversity. We were going great places and winning games, and I understand what coach Chaney and (head) coach (Kirby) Smart want to do,” Eason said via USA Today. “… I’m a player on this team and they’re the coaches. I’m not going to fight (their decisions). I think what they did was right — I mean look where we are now.”
Look at where Alabama and Georgia both were. Eason and Hurts are smart kids. Or rather, they’re smart men*. They saw how different their teams looked when true freshmen came in.
Moments after watching Tagovailoa experience the moment that Hurts probably dreamed of his whole life, this was how he acted.
I chatted with Jalen Hurts after the game. Young man is all class. pic.twitter.com/rJM7UPZIxw
— Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) January 9, 2018
When I was a college kid, I’d talk trash to anyone who’d listen about my roommates and how they never did any dishes. I can’t imagine having the maturity to act like Eason and Hurts did in those moments.
When they could’ve been enemies, they decided to be teammates. It’s one thing to talk about all of that team-first stuff when you’re the star quarterback getting all the attention. It’s another to embody that when the spotlight shifts.
Even in the likely scenario that neither starts another game for their respective program, Alabama and Georgia fans should have nothing but respect for Hurts and Eason.
I know I do.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
