Nick Saban and Jalen Hurts reunited for a touching moment at Senior Bowl practice

Nick Saban said he still considers Jalen Hurts one of his players.

Alabama coach Nick Saban and Jalen Hurts were reunited this week during practice for the Senior Bowl, which is Saturday in Mobile, Alabama, and it made for a delightfully heartwarming moment.

Hurts played for Saban and the Crimson Tide for the first three years of his college career before transferring to Oklahoma for his final year of eligibility. Before putting up some ridiculous stats with the Sooners’ offense, Hurts was Alabama’s starter in 2016 and 2017 but lost his starting job to Tua Tagovailoa, also a 2020 NFL Draft prospect, in 2018.

Not that we thought Saban did, but it’s clear he doesn’t hold Hurts’ transfer decision against him. And the two shared a special moment Wednesday at Senior Bowl practice.

After the South team’s practice, Saban briefly spoke with reporters about Saturday’s all-star exhibition game. He said, via 247Sports:

“It’s really good for the players to have the opportunity to showcase their talent. Any player from any place, but it’s especially good to see our players be able to do it — and Jalen, who I still consider one of our players — in front of a lot of people that represent NFL teams who are going to make the decisions about their future. Always good to be here to support our players.”

Typically a curmudgeon, there’s obviously still a special place in Saban’s heart for Hurts. During the 2018 SEC championship game against Georgia, Tagovailoa was injured, so Hurts went in, scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and led the team to victory. And afterward, Saban got choked up while praising Hurts’ performance.

With a customized helmet, Hurts will represent both Alabama and Oklahoma in the Senior Bowl. He was the 2019 Heisman Trophy runner-up behind LSU’s Joe Burrow — who is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick — and is playing in Saturday’s game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium to try to improve his NFL Draft stock.

With the Sooners, Hurts had a 69.7 completion percentage and threw for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Throughout the season, he was also the team’s leading rusher, finishing with 1,298 yards and 20 more touchdowns. However, some NFL Draft experts see him as a second- or third-rounder, unlike his predecessors, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, who were both No. 1 overall picks out of Oklahoma.

Saban also spoke about Hurts’ future in the NFL, comparing him to Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson. More via 247Sports:

“Well, there’s a lot of guys playing in the NFL now that are having a lot of success that are similar-style players to Jalen. Guys that can make plays with their feet. I think you know who they are. So, I think that success of those players has kind of broken the stereotype of you got to be a drop-back passer and this is the only way you can win in the NFL. You see Mahomes, the guy at Baltimore, all these guys are athletic guys who can make plays with their feet and create a lot of problems for the old stereotype NFL defense.”

The Senior Bowl is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama on the NFL Network.

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