Lincoln Riley on Jalen Hurts biggest obstacle to success with Eagles

Lincoln Riley believes he knows the key to Jalen Hurts’ success with the Eagles.

There isn’t anyone that can accurately detail the mindset of any particular player like the player himself, but over time, we’ve learned something. You can get a pretty good idea about who someone is if you talk to the coaches that they played for. Recently, Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley took a few moments to speak with Fran Duffy, one of the most trusted voices in terms of anything related to the Philadelphia Eagles. As you might imagine, Jalen Hurts took center stage in that conversation.

This is one of those interviews that you should check out if you have about ten minutes to spare. Much was said that “Birds” fans will find interesting. Everyone’s offered their opinions since Philly decided to go with a quarterback in Round 2 of the most recent draft, and the topic remains a nice conversation starter.

Who would have thought that Lincoln Riley would be discussing Jalen Hurts with the Eagles?

It isn’t often that last season’s runner up for the Heisman Trophy winds up with a contender. Jalen Hurts tossed 26 touchdowns and ran for 25 more during his senior season at Channelview High School in Texas. He wound up with the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he threw for 5,626 yards and 48 touchdowns and ran for another 1,976 yards and 23 touchdowns in 42 games.

As most of you know Tua Tagovailoa threw a wrench in his career with “The Tide”, but Hurts landed on his feet. His second stop at the NCAA level took him to yet another of college football’s most storied programs where he threw for another 3,851 yards, ran for 1,298, and accounted for 52 touchdowns.

Coach Riley showed no signs of concern about Philly’s second-round selection. He believes that he knows what it will take for Hurts to succeed in an ultra-competitive NFL, and the formula appears to be a familiar one. Here’s a quote.

"This will be the sixth year in a row that (Hurts) has had a new offensive coordinator… He had whoever he had (during) his senior year in high school, and then, he had four years of different offensive coordinators in college. He’s obviously going to have a new O.C. here with the Eagles, so what does this guy look like when he actually gets some continuity? I think that is intriguing, and you can’t discount the importance of that because it’s, in my opinion, impossible for a quarterback to develop to his full potential without having some continuity in a coaching staff and an offense and this guy has been able to produce at a high level despite that."

Well said Coach!

If you’re like most Eagles fans, you may have cracked a smile when you saw the words “offensive coordinator”. Philly doesn’t have one of those as they’ve elected to go with two senior offensive consultants, Marty Mornhinweg and Rich Scangarello. Head coach Doug Pederson will continue to call the plays on offense.

Hurts’ inaugural season in the NFL will, no doubt, provide a few highlight-reel moments, but Riley is correct. Consistency from his coaches will play a major role in how he develops.

Hurts is surrounded by some talented guys, and he should learn a lot from Carson Wentz and Nate Sudfeld. Philly’s franchise quarterback has voiced his support of the organization’s decision to bring Hurts in. Vice president and general manager Howie Roseman has discussed the topic on several occasions. For Eagles fans, the season can’t get here fast enough. It’s going to be fun to watch the offense work.