Why Jalen Hurts fits at Oklahoma

Would Lincoln Riley be interested in a transfer quarterback?

You would think after Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray both transferred into Oklahoma and won Heisman Trophies, Riley would be open to any and all transfers.

Especially when it came to a talented player like Georgia’s Justin Fields.

But when Fields left Georgia and made his intentions known to find a better situation, the Sooners didn’t seem to show interest.

Fields seemed like a perfect fit for Riley and the Oklahoma offense. But it became clear the Sooners wanted no part in upsetting the apple cart that was Spencer Rattler.

So why would the Sooners be interested in Alabama transfer quarterback Jalen Hurts?

He doesn’t have the same type of skillset as Fields. He was clearly replaced by a quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa who is more like what Lincoln Riley looks for in his quarterbacks.

So why are the Sooners interested in Hurts, when they weren’t interested in Fields? Or even Kelly Bryant, the former Clemson quarterback who was replaced by Trevor Lawrence?

For a long time, I thought Hurts wasn’t a fit for the Sooners or Riley’s offense. But information yesterday confirms the Sooners are willing to take the Alabama transfer.

So why is Hurts a fit when a quarterback like Fields was not?

1) The main reason is that Hurts is eligible to play immediately and has just one year of eligibility. Fields will have to seek a waiver from the NCAA to play immediately and that is not guaranteed to happen. Hurts is a graduate transfer so he will be eligible to play immediately.

2) Hurts will not be a threat to Spencer Rattler as Fields would have been. Hurts can play his year and be gone while Rattler spends a year learning the offense and playing in four games as he prepares to take over as a redshirt freshman in 2020.

If Rattler was a mid-semester enrollee this might be a different situation.

3) Hurts is a veteran who has played in three national title games. Even though he doesn’t have the throwing abilities of Mayfield or Murray, he has guided a team to the national title game twice. He’s more than capable as a runner and we all know Riley has enough offense in his playbook to utilize the skillset Hurts does have.

4) Austin Kendall is not the guy. As much as we have been told that Kendall was in a neck-and-neck battle with Murray last fall, he’s not going to be the guy to lead the Sooners back to the college football playoff. With a new offensive line, Kendall won’t give the offense an extra dimension with his legs. Hurts can help the Sooners overcome growing pains on the offensive line where Kendall cannot.

Would the move be a little cutthroat by Lincoln Riley? That word might be a little dramatic. Riley is doing whatever he can to keep Oklahoma competitive.

So do we know that Riley will take Jalen Hurts? Yes. He absolutely would.

We’ve even been told Oklahoma is already preparing the necessary paperwork to facilitate the transfer.

And Hurts’ father, Averion, had reached out to Oklahoma over a month ago about this potential transfer. This would be a move that has Hurts’ families blessing.

So how close is this to being a done deal? The Sooners still have some work to do. Hurts is also looking at Maryland because of his former Alabama offensive coordinator Mike Locksley and Manny Diaz at Miami is courting Hurts as well.

Hurts didn’t seem to be a fit for Riley and what he looks for in a quarterback. But the situation is right for Hurts to fit at Oklahoma. His immediate eligibility and the length of his stay is a perfect stop gap until the Sooners are ready to unleash Rattler on college football.