Here's the main hang-up I have with the situation. A true dual threat quarterback can be nearly unstoppable in college. We're talking about guys putting up 50 TDs and 5,000 yards. That's what Tebow did, that's what Jackson did last year for example. If that sounds like a long shot to you, Jalen had a total of 3,734 yards and 36 TDs, as a true freshman. So, we're not dreaming when we say if he improves, if he gets better, he can become a truly dominant, Heisman trophy candidate type of quarterback.
People are kind of hung up on how he finished (which was a combination of tough defenses and a horrible coordinator situation), but it seems like how well he actually did is being lost somewhere in there. It was the best true freshman season of all time, statistically speaking. That's not idle speculation, that's just what it was. He also did that against the toughest schedule in all of the FBS. He didn't get to feast on weaker competition, but when he did you saw what he was capable of (the Miss. State game for example). Now, the trick is people are kind of losing sight of the dominant dual threat quarterback thing, and talking about things more in the sense of the best attributes as a passer. One is more important in college, one is more important in the pros. The issue of course is we spent years wishing for a guy like Hurts, and not that we have him, it seems some wish more to have a more pure passer.
The problem is you almost never get both. You get Tebow, who dominated college football, or you get Tom Brady, who you know, won a couple bowl games. I'll tell you right now, I'd choose Tebow over Tom Brady, in college. Barnett was a better passer, Barnett is still a better pro prospect than Hurts. He was more experienced than Hurts, and he was still his backup who transferred out because he knew he couldn't reclaim the job. Is Tua a better passer? Sure, is he potentially a fantastic pro and college quarterback? Absolutely, but until I see Hurts regress (and he certainly didn't look like he had in A-Day) I know what he's done and I know what he has the potential to do. I'm big on Tua to though, that's why I really wish there was some way for him to redshirt...