System processing: How play-ca...

As the 2020 NFL Draft approached, scouts tried to figure just how excellent quarterback Jalen Hurts could be. And how should they possibly evaluate someone like this?

Hurts' path had been unusual, if not unparalleled. He was in the fifth year of what would be seven seasons with a different play-caller. Riley recognized the difficulty, even though Hurts threw 32 touchdowns to 8 interceptions and carried for another 20 in their lone season together at Oklahoma.

"Every team's query was, 'How do you project this guy?'" Riley, currently the head coach at USC, told Yahoo Sports in a recent interview. "'I think he's going to be a pretty terrific player,' I told them." He has a winning attitude. But I'm not sure what his ceiling is."

"Every play boils down to decision-making," Hurts explained. "Defenses disguise themselves, they provide amazing looks, they have terrific players who are disruptive and occasionally break plays." You must be able to react to those unusual faces and make them work."

The root of Jalen Hurts’ versatility

Jalen didn't want to play quarterback his freshman year of high school, according to Averion Hurts.

"So, who's going to toss the ball to you?"

"Jalen's father, Channelview High School's head coach, replied.

As a sophomore, Jalen Hurts began throwing the ball for Channelview, securing his spot as the full-time starter. He shone that year, but "made the largest jump" as a junior, according to Averion. Concepts and play-calls began to crystallize, and the game slowed while Jalen's mind accelerated. High school defenses were easier to deconstruct than college and NFL defenses, but Jalen seized command of his father's Air Raid system, knowing the reads so well that by senior year, he could finish the play-calls his father had started.

New year, new game plan

Hurts' three Alabama play-callers have all gone on to become head coaches. Hurts' rookie year offense was orchestrated by current Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin in 2016, while current New York Giants coach Brian Daboll — whom Hurts will play this weekend in a vital NFC East matchup — took over in 2017. Mike Locksley, the current head coach of Maryland, began calling plays by 2018.

Each year, the system changed. Fortunately for Hurts, Saban prevented a total reintroduction by forcing verbiage to transfer over.

"You basically take what they've done well there and keep that, and then what they don't have and add from your system," Locksley explained. "A little like gumbo."

Shattering the ceiling

One club evaluator told Yahoo Sports that "there was a ceiling put on him as a passer" during the pre-draft evaluation process, contradicting Lamb's assessment of Hurts. Because they were not publicly permitted to provide their team's scouting report, the evaluator talked on the condition of anonymity.

After nearly three full seasons, that same evaluator describes league sentiment as "amazed" by Hurts' progress as a passer.