The first day of Reese’s Senior Bowl practices finished up on Tuesday.
It was former Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts’ first opportunity to impress NFL coaches and scouts in a practice setting.
Hurts got off to a rough start.
“Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts, a prospect pegged as a potential option for the Bears in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft, struggled in his first Senior Bowl practice of the week, failing to throw with consistency or accuracy when targeting his South squad receivers,” wrote NBC Sports Chicago Bears writer Bryan Perez. “This isn’t an uncommon occurrence for quarterbacks participating in the Senior Bowl. It could take a few practices to develop rhythm and timing with a completely new set of pass-catchers, but there was a marked difference in Hurts’ ball placement compared to fellow South team quarterback, Oregon’s Justin Herbert.”
Perez wasn’t the only one with that opinion, either.
It’s Day 1 but Jalen Hurts is really struggling with placement
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 21, 2020
Had a bad INT. Overall looked decent.
Certainly looked better than Hurts. https://t.co/4yZWKpSV1y
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) January 21, 2020
I thought Jalen Hurts really struggled today. Late on a lot lot throws, some poor inside shoulder placement on outside passes, and straight up just didn't see open wideouts.
Only one practice, but outside of the confines of Lincoln Riley's offense he didn't look great.
— Carter Donnick (@CDonnick3) January 22, 2020
Not accurate. Struggled a lot. Herbert and Montez were much better https://t.co/W8ywMBSO5z
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 22, 2020
At Oklahoma, Hurts threw for 3,841 passing yards and 32 touchdowns, rushed for 1,298 more yards and 20 touchdowns. In the College Football Playoff at the Peach Bowl, his weaknesses of not being able to consistently make vertical throws, being late on throws and hitting open receivers was exposed as Hurts went 15-of-31 for 217 yards and an interception.
The Heisman Tropht finalist will get more chances to improve people’s opinions on him as Reese’s Senior Bowl practices ramp back up on Wednesday.
The Reese’s Senior Bowl will take place on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CT on NFL Network.
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