Who Is Jalen Hurts? From Backup to Super Bowl King – The New NFL Force Every Rival Fears

The Super Bowl makes superstars, which is why going into the 2025 edition of the Big Game, everyone knew about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. By the time the game was over, though, another superstar emerged, rising above the other stars on the field to become the game’s Most Valuable Player and a new household name for casual football fans: Jalen Hurts.

So, who is Jalen Hurts? How long has he been in the NFL? Let’s take a closer look at the career of the newly minted Super Bowl LIX MVP.

Where did Jalen Hurts play college football?

Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts in the second quarter during the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field on January 19, 2025. Photo: Brandon Sloter/Getty Images

A native of Channelview, Texas, Hurts attended Channelview High School and was recruited by the University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban. Hurts began attending Alabama in 2016, and earned the starting quarterback job under Saban, leading the team to back-to-back National Championship appearances in 2016 and 2017.

During the 2017 championship game, Hurts was benched in favor of another current NFL star, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagavailoa. The Alabama Crimson Tide won the title that year, and with it Tagavailoa won the starting job. After a season as the backup quarterback at Alabama, Hurts transferred to the University of Oklahoma, where he finished his college career and led his team to a College Football Playoff appearance.

After four seasons of college football, Hurts entered the NFL Draft in the spring of 2020.

Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles, the MVP of Super Bowl LIX, holds both the MVP and Vince Lombardi trophies during a press conference on February 10, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Photo: Michael DeMocker/Getty Images

Hurts was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2020 draft, and began his career as a backup in Philly. Late in the 2020 season, he stepped up to the starting spot, and began honing his style of play, which includes powerful, often unexpected runs from the pocket.

In 2021, the Eagles made the playoffs, and Hurts — in just his second season — helped begin what’s become a new streak of excellence for the team under head coach Nick Sirianni. Hurts led the team to the playoffs, starting what’s become a four-season streak of postseason appearances. The next year, Hurts and company would top all of that, making it all the way to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Chiefs in an instant classic. Hurts earned his first Pro Bowl designation that year, and cemented himself as a Philadelphia sports icon.

In 2023, the Eagles again made the playoffs, but lost in the first round in what could have been a sign that the team’s shot at a Super Bowl was over. But in 2024, the team rebounded, thanks in part to new additions like running back Saquon Barkley. And while Hurts sometimes struggled under center, he remained a steady presence, and came alive in the Super Bowl.

In Super Bowl LIX, the Kansas City Chiefs defense managed to largely shut down Saquon Barkley’s rushing attack, leaving Hurts free to not just do running of his own, but light up Philly’s passing game. In yesterday’s 40-22 victory over the Chiefs, Hurts rushed for 72 yards and one touchdown while throwing for 221 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. As the first-ever Eagles quarterback to make it to more than one Super Bowl, he made his second time count, and earned MVP honors along the way.

Jalen Hurts’ nonprofit work

Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles drops back to pass against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome on February 9, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Photo: Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Like many NFL stars, Hurts has used his status to boost causes that are important to him. As part of the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” initiative — which allows players to highlight a special cause or charity through specially decorated game day shoes — Hurts highlighted Billie Jean King’s Women’s Sports Foundation in 2021. He attributed to the decision not just to being raised by a strong mother, but to his behind-the-scenes team, composed primarily of women, who taught him about the foundation and its work.

Hurts is also the founder of the Jalen Hurts Foundation, a nonprofit which aims to “strengthen communities by servicing and advancing the youth” through resources and leadership programs.