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FSU Football: Has Jalen Hurts gotten better as a passer?

By Kelvin Hunt

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: Quarterback Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates with wide receiver ArDarius Stewart #13 after throwing a 68-yard touchdown pass during the third quarter against the Clemson Tigers in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: Quarterback Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates with wide receiver ArDarius Stewart #13 after throwing a 68-yard touchdown pass during the third quarter against the Clemson Tigers in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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FSU football will need to make Jalen Hurts beat them with his arm on September 2nd.

FSU football will soon begin to install their offensive and defensive packages in preparation for their opener against Alabama on September 2nd.

However, there’s already one thing they know they have to do if they want to pull off the upset against the Crimson Tide. That’s make Jalen Hurts one-dimensional, making him try to beat FSU with his arm.

We saw he struggled last season in games against teams with great defenses. LSU and Clemson made him look terrible, and FSU’s defense should be even better that those two units overall in 2017.

Alabama had their second fall scrimmage and things are looking promising for the ‘Noles considering Hurts progression as a passer according to reports from FanSided’s Alabama experts at BamaHammer.com. Here’s their report on how Hurts looked in the scrimmage:

"As in the first fall camp scrimmage, the defense had the upper hand over the offense. The main offensive problems were turnovers and inconsistent passing. Jalen Hurts had his weakest performance of fall camp. Tua threw the ball a little better as did Mac Jones. Tua got some work against the first-team defense.Overall the quarterbacks were average. In addition, several passes were dropped by receivers. Jalen threw two interceptions. Tua lost two fumbles. Najee Harris also fumbled."

Thoughts

I must qualify this by saying Alabama runs their practices like FSU in that there’s no contact made on the quarterback by the defense. So that limits scrambling opportunities, plus defenses are very familiar with what the offense is trying to do so things are more difficult.

Not to mention Alabama’s defense will be really good again as usual. However, the keyword I want to pick out here is inconsistent.

IF FSU football can force Jalen Hurts to be an inconsistent passer, they’ll have an excellent shot in pulling off the upset. They’ll have an even better shot if they can force him to turn the ball over.

The FSU defensive line should be able to affect him frequently which will allow the FSU secondary to possibly make a play, or force him to throw into tight windows where he doesn’t excel.

Next: Jimbo Fisher Develops Talent Better Than Nick Saban

Now, this was ONE day and just a snapshot of what Hurts looks like going into the season. However, I think it’s safe to say he hasn’t turned into the redshirt freshman version of Jameis Winston in the offseason.

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