DeVonta Smith on Jalen Hurts: ‘If I ain’t got nothing else in this city, I know I got him’

When DeVonta Smith caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to put the Philadelphia Eagles 34 points ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, the connection was the continuation of a relationship almost a decade in the making.  When Smith was a prep football star considering his college options, Hurts served as his host on visits to Alabama.

“It was two reasons I went to Alabama,” Smith said during an appearance this week on “7 PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony.” “Jalen was one reason, and (running-backs) coach (Burton) Burns was the other reason. Every time I went up there, I was with Jalen. At that time, I knew Jalen, I knew Shy(heim Carter). It was the only two people I knew, so just going up there, I was comfortable with him, knowing that if I do go, he’s going to be the quarterback. He’s somebody I can relate to, somebody I have a relationship with, so I was, OK, I’m cool there.

“Then at the end of the day, it’s football. We’re two guys who had the same mindset. Like, we’re here to dominate. We’re here to play football. We ain’t with all the extra stuff. And I think that’s why the relationship was so good, and the conversations that we have, whether it’s uncomfortable conversations or not, like, don’t nobody get in their feelings because we have that relationship.”

The wide receiver’s two seasons at Alabama with Hurts probably didn’t play out the way he envisioned.  While they played together for the Crimson Tide, Hurts completed 12 passes to Smith for 213 yards and one touchdown. Hurts worked as Alabama’s starting QB in Smith’s freshman season, when the future Heisman Trophy winner caught only eight passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns, although one was the game-winning 41-yard touchdown pass against Georgia in the CFP national-championship game for the 2017 season.

"If I ain't got nothing in this city, I know I got him."

The QB-WR bond that Jalen Hurts & DeVonta Smith have is unmatched ✊ pic.twitter.com/UkArjGwfgs

— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) March 20, 2025

That pass was thrown by Tua Tagovailoa, who played quarterback in the second half for Alabama and the next season overtook Hurts for the starting QB job, leading to Hurts’ transfer to Oklahoma for the 2019 season.  With Hurts heading toward his first season as the Eagles’ starting quarterback in 2021, Philadelphia traded up in the NFL Draft to select Smith at No. 10.

“When I got drafted to Philly, I was happy as hell,” Smith said. “I got my dog here. I know he was vouching for me. And it was just like: We’re about to pick up where we left off at, and it was just so good to have that relationship. In the league, it’s kind of different from college. In college when you get there, it’s not no, I would say, expectations for you to come in and do this. When you get to the league, you’re drafted first round, there’re expectations to come in and produce.

“So it made me more comfortable being with him, someone who I had that relationship with, I kind of had a connection to and just knowing that if I ain’t got nothing else in this city, I know I got him. That just made it so much easier for me.”

Since Smith came aboard and Hurts took the reins of the Philadelphia offense, the Eagles have been the playoffs annually, reached the Super Bowl twice and won the NFL championship for the 2024 season by beating Kansas City 40-22.  Smith’s touchdown reception against the Chiefs was the first by an Alabama alumnus in the Super Bowl. Hurts had become the first player from Alabama to score a Super Bowl touchdown two years earlier.