“Everyone on the team has really fallen in love with him,” said Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network about the Philadelphia Eagles and second-round pick Jalen Hurts, though they may not only love quarterback Alexander Alexander.
After all, Eagles coach Doug Pederson said on Thursday that Nate Sudfeld, not Hurts, remained the backup for starter Carson Wentz at quarterback. You think Alexander August would say something like that?
Who is Alexander August? He is the 6-year-old from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at the bottom of a feel-good story that ran via social media this week. His favorite football player is Hurts, and Hurts appreciates that.
Hurts discovered his status with Alexander then Alexander’s mother tweeted a photo of the teenager’s homemade Jalen Hurts backpack. Hurts had duplicated the backpack, except with the name Alexander on it instead of his.
CHECK HOW JALE HURTS IS CONNECTED WITH A YOUNG FAN
It just so happened then Hurts tweeted a photo of his backpack, Alexander and his family saw a replay of the Big 12 Championship Game of 2019. Hurts led Oklahoma to a 30-23 victory over time against Baylor in that game.
“For him to watch my game when I sent out that tweet, which is beyond me,” Hurts told the Eagles’ official website. “That’s God exactly.”
The story began when Nikki Godfrey asked her sons about backpacks for school. Eight-year-old Brayden wanted to have one with his favorite player, former Auburn star and New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton. Alexander did it too, but his favorite player was not Newton – and finding gear for rookies who were a second-round pick is not as easy as that for a former NFL MVP.
“We thought he wanted Cam Newton just like his brother,” Godfrey told nj.com. ‘I googled it. I went online to the NFL Shop and Amazon, and I could find nothing. The Jalen Hurts backpack just did not exist. Like a 6-year-old, he was a little overwhelmed and wanted that backpack. ”
So Godfrey turned to her mother, and “Mimi” and her sewing machine came by for her granddaughter, and stuck Hurts’ name and number on a blue backpack.
When the brothers took their backpacks in August on a trip to the Louisiana Children’s Museum and Godfrey realized why everyone named Alexander Jalen, she shared what she thought would be a funny photo and anecdote for her 150 as Twitter followers.
Then the blue backpack with his name and number on it came to Hurts ‘attention, and the former Alabama standout remembered how much it meant to him when he went to the Houston Texans’ training camp and met NFL players as children.
“Now to have the same platform in mind and to reach as many people as possible, I try to take every opportunity I can,” Hurts said. ‘It’s a blessing that the world means to me. That’s what it’s all about – giving back, showing love and helping others. That’s what it’s coming down to. That is the hair we pay to live on this earth. ”
Joshua August, Alexander’s father, said he was not surprised by Hurts’ gesture, recalling how the quarterback had treated himself in Alabama.
Hurts won the SEC Offensive Player of the Year award as a freshman in 2016, when he assisted the Crimson Tide at the CFP National Championship game. The following season, Hurts and Alabama returned to the title game. But with the Tide following Georgia at the time, Tua Tagovailoa replaced Hurts at quarterback and left Alabama to a victory.
Despite speculation that he would transfer, Hurts remained at the Tide for the 2018 season. And while Tagovailoa held the starting lineup, Hurts played a large part in Alabama’s victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, when he was in ‘ t fourth quarter replaced the injured Tagovailoa and the Tide rally.
“I was shocked at the fanfare it received,” Joshua August told NBC Sports Philadelphia. ‘I was not shocked to understand the story of Jalen Hurts – how he dealt with the benching in Alabama, how he got into the championship game when Tua got hurt. He came in; not mope.
‘Everyone in America hardly thought he would just move on. I remember all the talking heads saying, ‘Oh, he should transfer.’ He stunned and got his degree and that showed an enormous amount of character. And even after all he never based the program, nothing about it. A great amount of character, so I was not shocked that he did something like that, because that speaks to his character and his upbringing. ‘
Alexander said he chose Hurts as his favorite player because the quarterback “can throw, he’s fast and he’s smart.” Godfrey said she is happy to have her son Hurts as his favorite player for reasons that further football.
“You can express on the field, and that’s great, but showing a level of character that’s top-notch to be a good teammate, all the intangible things you want for your kids, I think Jalen shows those things. , “Godfrey said. “It has been very cool to see that he would take the time to reach Alexander in that way, and I think it is a testament to his character that he is demonstrating on and off the field. For me, as a mom, that has been really fulfilling and exciting for my boys to have that moment right now, especially in the midst of everything that is happening right now. ‘
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.
MORE NFL:
· Xavier McKinney finds something familiar with Giants
· DJ Fluker reduces body fat from 44 percent to 22 percent
· Washington coach Ron Rivera tells players he has cancer
· Julio Jones flattens the curve for Calvin Ridley with Falcons
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix ‘trying to find my house’ with Cowboys
· Damien Harris takes’ quite a few reps’ at Patriots’ training camp
Browns’ Mack Wilson says he ‘will be back and better’ after a knee injury
· Former Auburn High School standout to miss 2020 NFL season
Falcons’ Marlon Davidson hits game weight with high ‘hunger index’
Brown’s linebacker Mack Wilson faces uncertainty after knee injury
· Mack Wilson feels the wrath of Brown fans after Nick Chubb leaves
· Bruce Arians explains why OJ Howard ‘plays really, really well’
· Darius Slayton looked forward to ‘explosive’ new offense with Giants
· Levi Wallace facing All-Pro challenger for spot in Bills lineup
· Carolina Panthers release DeAndrew White
· Casey Dunn, Tremon Smith back to NFL
Burton Burns: Joe Judge’s 2020 Giants reminiscent of Nick Tijan’s 2007 Tide
