FOXBOROUGH, MA – On Sunday, Jalen Hurts and Mac Jones will take the field together at Gillette Stadium, but this time on opposite sides. 

The two quarterbacks spent two seasons together at Alabama, with Jones redshirting his freshman year while Hurts served as the backup to Tua Tagovailoa. And there was one main thing he learned while working with Hurts. 

"I guess conditioning is the first thing," Jones said. "Me and him were always running against each other and he's definitely faster than me, but I feel like I gave him a good run for his money."

Alabama is known for producing some of best talent, and much of that is due to coach Nick Saban and the 4th-quarter conditioning program he runs. 

"I learned a lot from (Hurts) – stuff like that, leading off the field and in the 4th quarter program we had," Jones said. "He always did such a good job running, and leading, never showed a lot of emotion, just did his thing. I actually learned a lot from him there. Then obviously on the field, there’s a bunch of stuff, too. I really appreciate him.”

While he didn't begin the season as a starter, Hurts earned the starting spot early in his freshman year. He finished with 240 completions (62.8 completion percentage) for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns. In his sophomore season, Hurts lead Alabama to the National Championship, but was benched in favor of freshman Tua Tagovailoa after they fell behind at halftime. Tagovailoa then helped Alabama complete the comeback victory. 

In his junior season he was the backup to Tagovailoa and then transferred to Oklahoma for his senior season. Hurts was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. 

Hurts' ability to overcome the obstacles and continue to persevere is something that Jones has always appreciated. 

"I've been fortunate to play with him and learn a lot from him," Jones said. Definitely a great quarterback and just think back to the times we had and just really proud of him and everything he's done in the NFL."

"In college he went through a lot," Jones added. "Transferred, played well every game. He's been just who he is, just Jalen Hurts. He's just a great player, great person, and a good friend."

The Philadelphia quarterback also voiced his respect for his former Alabama teammate when speaking with the media on Wednesday. 

“Mac has always been a great competitor,” Hurts said. “I'm looking forward to him doing big things this year." 

The Patriots and Eagles will kick off at 4:25 p.m. on Thursday at Gillette Stadium. 

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Featured Image via Gary Cosby Jr. via Imagn Content Services, LLC