There’s really no other way to describe it. Any media session with Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts has been weird, at best, or downright uncomfortable at its worst.
But following the Sooners’ dramatic 42-41 escape vs. Iowa State, there was a side of Hurts that has rarely been shown in a public setting since his arrival in Norman in January.
In a season chockfull of one-word or one-sentence answers to media questions, Hurts was open deep into the night Saturday. He was honest. And for the first time, maybe ever, you got a feel of who Hurts is and what this year means to him.
“People ask me why I carry myself the way that I do, why I handle myself the way I do, why I go about my business the way that I do, why I try to lead the way I do, why I work out after every game,” Hurts said. “Little things like that because I take it personal. I want it so bad for this team.
“As a leader, as a quarterback, I’m willing to lay it all out on the line for them. Me being the player that I am, I know that I can definitely control the outcome of the game and how the game flows and all of that. There’s a lot to learn from.
“But regardless of how this whole thing went tonight, I look at myself in the mirror and say ‘J, you could have did this and you could have did that, but your brothers had your back.’ So we’re going to build from this. We are going to enjoy this as much as we can and try to be 1-0 next week, like we were this week.”
The press conference wasn’t weird, but Hurts’ performance could be labeled that for the second game in a row. The numbers? Yep, they’re absolutely there. Hurts was 18-of-26 passing for 273 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for two more scores.
You account for five touchdowns in a game, and you figured to be lauded with unending praise. But the offense can look clunky at times. The running backs can disappear. Hurts can bail out of the pocket too quickly.
The offense is so good with so many skilled players that it can overcome those brief head-scratching moments. For a team that faced little-to-no adversity in the first seven games, the last two contests have been a blunt force reality check. For the good and bad.
“All year, before I got here, for the longest time I’ve always said we won’t know who we are as a team until we get into some fire,” Hurts said. “For the longest time, I actually said I can’t wait to see what we are as a team. We play U of H and come out and play a decent game and have a lot to learn from it. We’d have bigger fish to fry at one point.
“You look at this game right here and, as a team, you say, we definitely put ourselves in a horrible situation. I look myself in the mirror and I say I put us in a horrible situation. I could have done better, especially in that second half, of executing our offense, keeping things alive, converting on third downs, of just making smart decisions that I always make.
“The unique part of all of this is we found out a lot about ourselves as far as overcoming adversity. We saw some growth. Are there are a lot of plays at the end of the game or early in the game that we wished we would have made to not even make it close? Yeah. But we needed this for a reason. I’m a believer that God has us feeling this way for a reason. This is definitely a lesson that we will learn from.”
Where OU goes in the final three games of the regular season remains to be seen. You could see OU run the table and play in Arlington once again for a Big 12 crown. Or you could see the Sooners drop one in Waco and maybe Stillwater to close out the year.
There are issues on every side of the ball that need to be fixed. But if you’re questioning Hurts and his desire as a Sooner, that’s one ledge you need back off from.
That’s not the problem. The effort, the passion is there even if they’re still trying to figure everything else out.
“Don’t let this stoic face fool you,” Hurts said. “I am happy we won the game.”
