What You See is What You Get with Jalen Hurts

The Eagles QB rarely displays much emotion, but he has earned trust and respect of teammates after being selected a team captain for the second year in a row

PHILADELPHIA – What you see is basically what you get with Jalen Hurts.

He’s the same player you see in his press conference that he is around his teammates. Most of the time, anyway.

Sometimes he will smile and release a chuckle during his interviews. He’s about the same in the locker room, too. Rarely does he show any emotion, though there are times after he scores a touchdown or throws for one, he will spike the ball, maybe do a little dance, or celebrate with a primal scream.

He employs a no-nonsense, all-business-like approach and not opposed to getting in a teammate’s face but only to make sure they are on the same page if the play doesn’t work.

Hurts will tell you that he is still trying to figure out what an offseason looks like for him, an offseason that will allow him to continue to grow and be successful.

Something that won’t change is the way he conducts himself on and off the field.

“This is who I am, you know what I mean?” he said on Thursday. “I am who I am. I don’t try to be anything other than that. I think, for me, I never ride waves. I never want to get too high, get too low.

"I just want to set the right example for the people around me. Do my job. Know that I can be trusted because that’s all earned within the course of a football team.”

Hurts talked about a meme that somebody sent him from his days at Alabama.

“It was a little funny thing,” he said, “but I’ve always been that way. Same face.”

Meme of Jalen Hurts who rarely reveals any emotion :: N/A

Isn’t this what you want from a quarterback who is prepared to begin his second season as the team’s full-time starter at the game’s most important position, a player who doesn’t ride waves, who has a unique style of leading that has led to him being elected by his teammates to be one of the captains of the team’s ship as it steers into a season with high expectations?

Hurts' emotionless demeanor was on display when he took a late hit on the sidelines against the New York Jets. He jumped right up while across the field head coach Nick Sirianni was showing his unhappiness for the late hit by barking at the New York sideline.

"I didn’t want to give nobody the benefit of the doubt with that," he said, "but there are things that I don’t make a big deal about because it’s not a big deal. For that (late hit) example, everybody’s running over there, everybody’s mad, but hey, I’m OK. I’m not wincing. I’m not crying aloud. Let’s go to the next play."

Jordan Mailata said that Lane Johnson and Landon Dickerson can crack the Hurts code, but the LT couldn’t explain how, only that you have to be there to hear the interaction with the quarterback and his right tackle and left guard.

His close friend, A.J. Brown, compared him to a character in the show, ‘Snowfall,’ who does not show much emotion.

“He stays calm the entire time no matter what happens to him,” said Brown.

Brown is certainly more vocal than his friend, but Hurts can speak up, too.

“I would speak it and I try to go perform it,” said Brown. “He wants to perform it and he wants to show it. So, he does a great job leading by example, and he heads and speaks up when the time is necessary so that's the type of guy you need, I'm still learning stuff about him as a teammate. 

"He's been doing a great job leading up, so we're all excited."

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.