Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Keeps the Faith: ‘God Is Everything’

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts does not shy away from opportunities to talk about his faith.  This started when he played college football for the University of Alabama and later at the University of Oklahoma.  “As a competitor, I wanted badly to be a part of the dynasty that Coach Saban was building. I wanted to make my mark. I wanted to leave a LEGACY,” Hurts wrote in an article for the Player’s Tribune. “Was what happened in the 2018 National Championship Game bittersweet? Of course it was — it was a humbling experience. It was tough, man.”

Alabama won the CFP Championship in 2018, but Hurts lost his starting position to Tua Tagovailoa.  “I understand that God put those obstacles and challenges in my life for a reason,” Hurts wrote. “He wanted me to feel the pain I felt for a reason. He wanted me to understand the importance of never losing faith — and of always staying true to myself. He had NOT brought me this far just to leave me there.”

Once Hurts finished his college career, the Philadelphia Eagles drafted him in the second round of the NFL draft.  In just his second year as an Eagle, Hurts led his team to the Super Bowl.  “I’ve just matured and realized that God is everything, and He’s worthy of praise,” the athlete told CBS Sports. “You have to put Him at the center of everything that you do. That’s what I believe. All my spiritual wisdom — all of my wisdom as a whole — comes from Him, in some way, shape or form, whether that be passed down from my father, my mother, my grandmother. I just think, in all the things that we experience in life — good, bad or indifferent — you have to keep Him in the center.”

Hurts leadership on the field has put his team in another position to win a Super Bowl. However, it’s his leadership off the field that has propelled many players in the NFL and college ranks to be unashamed about their faith.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard told the media after the CFP National Title game, “I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving me the opportunity to play in this game. I wrote on my hand, Proverbs, 27:17, ‘As iron sharpens irons, so should one man sharpen another.’ And I think, like I said throughout the week, you know, us and Ohio State, we’re the two teams who praise Jesus Christ the most. And I think that we strengthen each other in our faith through coming to this game and competing against each other.”

“So I’m happy to see godly men come out on top, no matter what the circumstances,” Leonard continued. “I’m very, you know, happy to praise Jesus in the lowest as well. I think as far as this program goes, we’ve learned a lot. We’ve been through ups and downs. I’ve been through ups and downs. I don’t even recognize the person I was before I got to Notre Dame, and it’s all credit to these guys beside me and everybody else in the locker room.”