University Of Maryland Expected To Grab Alabama QB Jalen Hurts, Miami And TCU Also Interested

After three years in Alabama, Jalen Hurts decided that he wanted out. Prior to the 2018 season, Hurts had led Alabama to a 26-2 record in two seasons and also nabbed himself an SEC Offensive Player of the Year honor.

During that same time span, he also won a national championship. But the emergence of Heisman runner-up Tua Tagovailoa became too much. On Friday, Hurts entered into the NCAA transfer portal.

Auburn & Houston Also Pursuing Hurts

Just a week removed from a stunning 44-16 National Championship loss to the Clemson Tigers, Hurts is already underway with visits. The sweepstakes for the senior quarterback first began with speculation that he’d jump ship for the University of Miami. On January 9, Hurts followed the school’s head coach Manny Diaz, tight end Brevin Jordan and running back DeeJay Dallas on Twitter.

Texas Christian University became the favorite soon after. The Horned Frogs lost their 2018 starter, Shawn Robinson, to Missouri and the school’s head coach Gary Patterson had recent success with transfer quarterback Kenny Hill.

However, odds now have the Maryland Terrapins as the No. 1 landing spot for Hurts.

Here are the odds:

Maryland: +200

Miami: +300

TCU: +500

Auburn: +600

Houston: +700

On Friday, Hurts was seen in College Park attending a Terrapins Basketball game. Though he hasn’t had a transfer quarterback like Patterson, new head coach Mike Locksley served as the Crimson Tide offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018. Hurts still would have to battle against Kasim Hill and Tyrrell Pigrome for the starting role.

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Though these new additions don’t rule out Miami — and while the Twitter activities are less of a sign — Miami made former Alabama quarterbacks coach Dan Enos their offensive coordinator. The Miami Herald reports that Hurts visited the school on Sunday and got food with coach Diaz and a large group of Miami staffers. In the two days before, the quarterback visited  Maryland and Oklahoma.

Though Oklahoma is not listed in the odds, Hurts could likely end up there. On top of the visit, both its starter and backup quarterback won’t be with the school in 2019. Kyler Murray is expected to go pro in either baseball or football and Austin Kendall entered into the transfer portal on Friday.

Article by Bill Piersa

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