Did Jalen Hurts reset the bar on what it means to be a teammate?

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You’d be hard-pressed to find someone that wasn’t impressed with Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts’ performance in the second half of Monday night’s national championship game.  Yes, I use the term performance, even though he only played one play in the second half.

The performance I’m talking about is the one that the former Texas high school football player turned-in as a teammate.  When Alabama head coach Nick Saban decided to start true freshman Tua Togavailoa in the second half with the Crimson Tide down 13-0 to Georgia, Hurts could have just become sullen with his coaches’ decision.  Instead, before millions on television, the former Channelview High School star showed the world what it means to be a teammate.

Hurts cheered and collaborated with the former St. Louis High School (Hawaii) star to bring the Tide all the way back to win the national championship 26-23 in overtime.

After the game, Hurts reset the bar for being a teammate with the following quote when he was asked about being the second half back-up, “It was important for me to stay true to myself and be the person I am, and be the leader I am, regardless of the circumstance. It’s my duty to do things like that, and do all those things genuinely.”

As I posted on Twitter, every player needs to read and re-read Hurts’ comments. Personally, I think that Webster’s should put Hurts’ picture next to the definition of the word “teammate” in the dictionary.

Kudos to Jalen Hurts!

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About the Author

Jeff Fisher
Jeff is an award-winning journalist and expert in the field of high school sports, underscored with his appearance on CNBC in 2010 to talk about the big business of high school football in America.Jeff turned to his passion for high school football into an entrepreneurial venture called High School Football America, a digital media company focused on producing original high school sports content for radio, television and the internet.Jeff is co-founder and editor-in-chief of High School Football America, a partner with NFL Play Football.