Report: Jalen Hurts Transfer a Real Possibility if He Doesn’t Win Starting Job

Surely you didn't think we'd escape spring camp without a little Alabama quarterback controversy, did you?

With only two days left until the Crimson Tide plays its annual A-Day game and heads into the offseason, a new report from Bleacher Report has stirred a relatively quiet spring in terms of competition between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa. Most of that is due in part to the latter's injury on the first day of camp that's left him limited through the past few weeks. That doesn't mean the evaluation isn't ongoing, but it's left fans and the media little to judge each player's performance.

In a story published Thursday, Matt Hayes spoke with Hurts' father about the quarterback's future in Tuscaloosa as Nick Saban and his staff try to decide how they'll manage the position in 2018.

"Coach Saban's job is to do what's best for his team. I have no problem with that," Averion Hurts told Bleacher Report. "My job is to do what's best for Jalen—and make no mistake, Jalen is a quarterback, and he wants to play quarterback. He loves Alabama, loves Coach Saban and everything about that place. But he wants to play, and he will play…"

So where would this leave Hurts if Tagovailoa is named the starter out of fall camp?

"Well, he'd be the biggest free agent in college football history," his father said. 

The possibility of a quarterback transferring out of Alabama isn't a surprise but this is the first time we've heard someone from the Hurts camp lay out it so clearly. Keep in mind that Jalen himself hasn't hinted at that possibility once but you can't ignore his father's comments.

Hurts will get his next chance to compete on Saturday as he leads either the Crimson or White team on A-Day. With Tagovailoa out with a hand injury, Mac Jones is expected to start opposite of Hurts.

Saban is scheduled to meet with reporters after Thursday's practice but it's doubtful he has much to say about this hypothetical. Either way, Tide 102.9 will have coverage of that press conference on-air and online.