ATLANTA — Jalen Hurts may have a 25-2 record as the starting quarterback at Alabama, including back-to-back trips to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
He may have an SEC Offensive Player of the Year award under his belt and more than 6,500 total yards and 58 career touchdowns.
But on Monday night, he was toast and his coach, Nick Saban, knew it. So coming out of halftime, Saban did the unthinkable: on the game’s biggest stage, with a title on the line, he rolled the dice and benched Hurts in favor of a true freshman with eight games of backup experience under his belt.