Jalen Hurts is many things to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

On the field, he is the lead signal caller, the stabilizing presence, and the calm in the storm of an NFL game. And for those skills, Hurts led the Eagles to a Super Bowl, in which he played a historic-level game but fell just short of getting to hoist up the Lombardi Trophy. 

Hurts rise may be seen as a surprise, but for those around him and close observers of his nature, Hurts was always on the trajectory to stardom because of what he can do and be off the field. 

"It's really no surprise to me the success that Jalen's having right now, and just wish him the best moving forward," Doug Pederson said in a recent interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. "The things that impressed me the most are probably the things you see off the football field

"The leadership ability, his work ethic, the way he approaches the game, the way he studies the game, the way he wants to be coached — he wants to be coached hard. … He's the right guy for that job and just wish him nothing but great success moving forward."

Pederson was the coach that drafted Hurts. So, he was in on what the quarterback could be from the first day.

And since then, Hurts has only proven Pederson's assumption about how committed he is to the game of football correct. 

At the start of July, Hurts told the Associated Press Pro Football Podcast that last season was just the beginning of his stardom. In fact, Hurts went as far as to declare that he is never satisfied. His appetite to improve is never satiated. And all that bodes well for an Eagles team attempting to return to the Super Bowl.

“Everybody aspires to be the best and works to be the best, but ultimately you have to find some separation,” Hurts said on the AP Pro Football Podcast. “And that’s the thrill. There’s a thrill in not being satisfied and there’s a thrill in being on this journey, and I have embraced that. I love this game and I know my purpose within this game. I truly just want to be intentional. … So every day I just try to be the best that I can be and that is not based off of external factors. Those things don’t matter. You just try and control what you can.”

On the field, Hurts threw for 3,701 yards with 22 touchdowns and ran for 760 yards and 13 scores.

Off it, he helped the Eagles keep the main thing the main thing. 

Hurts is only just getting started. And with the head he has on his shoulders, the security his record-breaking extension affords him, and the talent present on the roster, if this is only the beginning, the NFL is in trouble. 

Jalen Hurts on his commitment to improvement: ‘There is no thrill in being satisfied’

Jalen Hurts knows that more is to come.

Feature image via Michael Chow/The Republic via USA TODAY Sports.