Eagles QB Jalen Hurts: Inside His Greatness & 'Key to Wisdom'

Physical gifts are only part of the puzzle for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

PHILADELPHIA - It was at the Maxwell Football Club National Awards Gala back in March when Jalen Hurts unveiled his 2023 mindset.

“I didn't walk through that fire just to smell the smoke,” the star quarterback said after accepting the 64th Bert Bell Professional Player of the Year Award.

The Philadelphia Eagles, of course, were coming off a brilliant, almost storybook season that came up just short during a 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

Hurts was arguably the best player on the field that day, save for one unforced error that resulted in a Nick Bolton defensive touchdown. 

Despite carrying his team with a brilliant performance and the numerous dominos that fell after what was a second-quarter miscue, Hurts shouldered the blame for two reasons: that’s what leaders do and he really believed his hiccup cost the Eagles the football game.

He'll have his first crack at redeeming himself on Sunday when the Eagles visit the New England Patriots in Week 1.

© Bill Streicher, USA TODAY

At 25, the only thing Hurts has done better than playing quarterback in the NFL to date is branding his old soul-like mentality and never-ending chase for greatness.

His “T-shirt slogan” mantras are seemingly bottomless, wisdom broken down into one-liners for the short-attention-span generation that too often demands information immediately and in an easily digested format.

“It comes through life. Life teaches you things,” the fourth-year quarterback told a small group of Eagles beat reporters when discussing his now-famous sound bites. “It’s about if you’re learning from life or not.”

History teaches us that the idea of so-called Super Bowl hangovers is real but it's also intangible, ironically the same word that best defines Hurts’ personal greatness.

The NFL grind is enormous and when you get through that Hurts described “fire” only to find more smoke and no exit, human nature almost demands hopelessness.

The default setting for most in that situation is to throw up their hands and accept fate. For the few, it’s about pushing forward to reach Hurt’s standard.

“Obviously, winning is everything,” he said. “But if you’re not learning, regardless of what the situation is, you’re doing yourself a disservice. When you learn, that’s the key of wisdom.”

“The standard is the standard” is another Hurts-ism, one the quarterback rarely defines. For the uninitiated, “the standard” is the unreachable goal of perfection or perhaps better defined demanding that the journey takes precedence over the moment, no matter how big that moment might be.

“You have different things that push you forward,” Hurts said. “It’s about if you allow that to do that, how does it define you? It’s about your approach to it. You always have to regain that focus and push forward.”

When most owners write large checks to professional athletes, there is at least a pause to reflect on how life-changing money might affect a young man.

In the case of Jeffrey Lurie and the $180 million he guaranteed Hurts, there was an eerie calmness to handing out the largest contract in franchise victory best stamped by Lurie’s proclamation of Hurts being “the most mature 24-year-old I’ve ever come across,” a title only relinquished when the calendar turned for the QB1 on Aug. 7.

“I think attitude reflects leadership. I’m always aware of the role that I play in it,” Hurts said. “It’s happened naturally everywhere I’ve been and every team that I’ve been able to play for, start for. I see no difference here.

“I think in the end, it’s all about what you do on the field. And it’s all about how you carry yourself. Different people do it in different ways.”

The intangible nature of Hurts’ greatness confounds his critics.

The public-facing aspect of Hurts’ game has become elite. 

He’s a great running quarterback who manipulates the spacing and discipline of the defense by threatening the back end. He’s tirelessly worked to improve his accuracy by honing in on his footwork and mechanics with former Major League pitcher Adam Dedeaux in the offseason, and the QB’s processing skills have leaped off the page by embracing Nick Sirianni’s “situational masters” mindset.

That said, others are more gifted and will never reach the heights Hurts already has.

It’s behind the curtains where Hurts distances himself. Many of those other gifted signal callers aren’t keeping “the main thing the main thing.”

“Never change,” Hurts said. “I don’t do the social media stuff. … When I’m here, it’s for football. This is what I do. This is why I’m here. Regardless of what’s going on, or whatever it is, when I’m by myself, when I have the time to think, decompress and, do whatever, I think about winning.

“That’s the only thing that matters.”