Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa meet in 2023 for the first time as opponents

If you’re like the rest of us, your movie collection probably houses a ton of great flicks centered around the game we love so much. There’s Any Given Sunday, The Program, and Friday Night Lights. If none of those float your boat, there are alternatives like The Longest Yard (both of them), Gridiron Gang, We Are Marshall, and, of course, the Vince Papale biopic Invincible among others. Frankly, there are too many to name, but the beauty of football is this. Some of its best stories are played out right in front of us, with no script or hired actors. Think about it. Has there been a tale as intriguing as the one centered around Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa?

Sure, football is a better form of reality television, and while you may find a backstory as intriguing as the one shared by these talented signal-callers, we can promise you one thing. You won’t find one that’s more interesting.

Believe it or not, this year’s clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins marks the first time that Jalen and Tua have met on the field as opponents. As you may have heard a time or two, both of their stories contain chapters that feature one another.

In Tuscaloosa, there sits one of college football’s elite programs. Perhaps you have heard of it. The Alabama Crimson Tide has called itself home to legendary players and coaches. They have won 18 claimed national titles and five more that are unclaimed. They are also a huge part of Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa’s story.

In 2023, Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa will write another chapter in one of the most friendly rivalries we have ever seen.

If we were never introduced to Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, what might have happened had we imagined a similar tale? What if we took our script to a production company in an attempt to find backing to get our film casted, filmed, and released?

What are the chances we would have been thrown out because our film lacked realism? Might we have found a production company that jumped at the opportunity to work with us?

Had we not seen the events of the Hurts/Tagovailoa saga play out for ourselves, we might not have believed it. It’s one we might tell the grandchildren about. Two of the nation’s highly-touted quarterbacks at the prep level are both recruited and landed by the same elite program.

Jalen arrives first (2016). As a freshman, he leads Bama to the doorstep of a College Football Playoff National Championship Game win but loses to the Deshaun Watson-led Clemson Tigers by a score of 35–31.

One year later, he leads The Tide back to the college football’s biggest game, but this time, he falls into a deep hole early versus the Georgia Bulldogs and is pulled. That’s when most of the nation became privy to the Hurts/Tagovailoa discussion.

Tua Tagovailoa, as a freshman, led Bama out of a 13-0 hole on the grandest of stages and led them to a 26-23 win in overtime. The game was punctuated by a bomb from Tua on 2nd down and 26 from the Bulldogs’ 41-yard line.

That one landed perfectly in the hands of DeVonta Smith of all people for a walk-off touchdown. It still gives the most die-hard fan chills, unless you’re an alum or a fan of Georgia. Just watch this one, and appreciate the beauty.

As you might expect, questions were asked about who The Tide would start at quarterback next season began almost immediately. That’s right ladies and gents. The story was just beginning.

Tua Tagovailoa won the job as Alabama’s starter for the 2018 NCAA football season, and the Tua-led Tide marched through its schedule en route to a 12-0 record and a berth in the SEC Championship Game. He got hurt. That’s when Hurts (notice the elite wordplay there) found himself back in the spotlight.

Tua’s high ankle sprain in the fourth quarter came with The Tide in a 28-21 fourth-quarter hole. Hurts rallied his team to a 35-28 win. As you know Jalen transferred to the Oklahoma Sooners for the 2019 NCAA football season and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting to Joe Burrow. This came just one year after Tua finished second in the Heisman sweepstakes to Kyler Murray.

Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts both declared for the NFL Draft after the 2019 NCAA football season. Tua was selected fifth overall during Round 1. Jalen landed with Philly 48 picks later as the 53rd player taken on Day 2. This season another chapter will be written in their epic tale.

If you didn’t know better you would think Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa were the fiercest of rivals. They’re actually friends, but that won’t matter when they meet each other on the field. Both of these young men will do all that they can to win what should be an entertaining game.

This is a meeting that is unique as it is rare. Remember, Tua and Jalen play in two different conferences, so unless they meet in a Super Bowl, they’re only scheduled to face one another once every four seasons. So, what does that mean? At best maybe we’ll see this duel two, maybe three, times at most.