Column: Alabama QB Jalen Hurts aims to bring the pain in title game, but Clemson could make him feel it too

The first day Jalen Hurts showed up at Alabama, the coaches had him take a physical, then hustled him onto the practice field.

It was last winter and the freshman — who had enrolled early as a 17-year-old — was given a specific task.

Coach Nick Saban and his staff needed him to play on the scout team, facing the first-string defense, and pretend to be Clemson’s do-everything quarterback, Deshaun Watson.

“Coach thought we kind of resembled each other on the field,” Hurts recalled. “So I just came in and played my game.”

His job was to help the defense prepare for Watson before the 2016 national championship game, but he ran and passed so well that it laid the groundwork for Hurts’ becoming the starter this season.

A year later, he now finds himself in a rematch against the Tigers, squaring off against the rival he once imitated.

“Kind of weird,” he said.

Heading into the College Football Playoff finale on Monday night, Hurts ranks as an emerging star but also something of a question mark, given his occasional stumbles and a lukewarm performance against Washington in the semifinals last week.

“There have been moments where it hasn’t been perfect for him,” said Steve Sarkisian, his new offensive coordinator.

The problem is, run-heavy Alabama might need Hurts to provide more punch if Clemson’s high-powered offense turns the title game into a track meet. And the Tigers’ fast, aggressive pass rushers know that.

“You definitely want to put pressure on him,” defensive lineman Carlos Watkins said. “Rattle him up.”

Alabama freshmen are usually kept under wraps, so Saturday’s media day in Tampa offered reporters a rare opportunity to speak with Hurts. He talked quietly about growing up as the son of a Texas high school coach, spending his youth immersed in football.

“I would say that’s got me ahead,” he told the media crowded around. “When you come from an environment like that, where you’re being coached in the car on the way home or whatever it is, that’s just the relationship we had.”

Something else about his upbringing set him apart. When his older brother began power lifting in high school, Hurts followed suit. His lower-body strength, in particular, is unusual for a quarterback.

“He runs behind his pads,” Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware said. “He’s a thick dude and he can fly.”

During the early years of Saban’s tenure, Alabama had stuck mostly to pro-style passers. That shifted in 2014 when dual threat Blake Sims led the Crimson Tide to a 12-2 season.

“I think we philosophically changed a bit,” Saban said. “And Jalen certainly fit that.”

Though Hurts technically began the season as a backup, he replaced Blake Barnett early in the opener against USC and, after fumbling his first snap, played well. Alabama had its first freshman starter at quarterback in more than three decades.

“I think they’ve done a great job in bringing him along and giving him what he could handle and then kind of growing that through the season,” Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney said.

As Alabama swept to a 14-0 record, players say the new guy won their trust in two ways. Not the loquacious sort, he nonetheless spoke up when the offense needed a prod. And he produced on the field.

At Mississippi, his 304 yards of combined offense sparked a comeback win. At Arkansas, he had two touchdowns rushing and two passing. Later in the season, against Mississippi State, he became the first player in school history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in a game.

“The way he carries himself, you kind of have no choice but to respect him,” offensive lineman Cam Robinson said. “And the way he plays on the field … I mean, how do you not want to follow a guy like that?”

There were, however, a few bumps in the road with multi-interception games against Auburn and Texas A&M. Such mistakes did not sit well with a player who says he hates “little critical things that I know can be fixed.”

Last week, Washington’s defense made him look his age — if not uncomfortable — as he completed seven of 14 passes for only 57 yards.

“I just didn’t like how we executed as a whole on offense,” Hurts said. “And I think it all starts with me.”

That game led to a sudden departure for Lane Kiffin, the team’s offensive coordinator over the last three seasons. Kiffin was recently named coach at Florida Atlantic and, after talking with Saban, agreed that juggling two jobs had become untenable. At least, that was the official reason given for his leaving.

So the Crimson Tide took the unusual step of switching coordinators — Sarkisian was promoted from offensive analyst — days before a national championship game.

If the move initially startled Hurts, he shrugged it off quickly enough.

“Coach Sark called me and told me — he was the first one to tell me,” Hurts said. “I was like, ‘OK, let’s do it.’”

It remains to be seen what tweaks or fixes Sarkisian will install for Clemson, which averages 3.5 sacks and is among the national leaders in interceptions.

Will the Crimson Tide stick to a conservative offense, banging away with running back Bo Scarbrough? Will they open things up for more downfield throws?

Now that Hurts — who turned 18 over the summer — has a full regular season under his belt, he doesn’t seem too worried about it.

Whatever the coaches give him, he says, will be fine.

“I’m not a little kid anymore.”

david.wharton@latimes.com

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