DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Cowboys will get their third and final crack at beating an Oklahoma Sooners quarterback this season when they go up against Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Dallas has already faced off against Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, the two other quarterbacks who have reached the NFL after playing under offensive guru Lincoln Riley at OU.
Since entering the Eagles loss to the Packers, Hurts has taken the league by storm, scoring six total touchdowns in 2 1/2 games. He led Philadelphia to an upset win over the Saints in his first career start in Week 14, gashing the New Orleans rushing defense for 106 yards on the ground to become the first player to run for more than 100 yards against them this season.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones was asked about Hurts as his team gets ready to host him this Sunday in North Texas, saying he reminds him of their own franchise quarterback, Dak Prescott.
"You have to admire what he's doing. We watched the Philly game yesterday against the Cardinals. (It's) just amazing what he's doing as a rookie, just stepping right in. You hear he's got a ton of respect on the team, (that) he's a hard worker. To some degree, he reminds you, I'm not going to go as far as to say all the details of (his skillset). His leadership, competitiveness and the success he's having quickly reminds (me) a lot of our guy, Dak," Jones said Monday on 105.3 The Fan.
"And this is just what I'm seeing from afar. It's so unfair for me to judge. He competed his tail off against a really good Arizona Cardinal football team. Certainly, Kyler Murray is playing at a high level, and I think he went step-for-step with him and just came up a little short at the end.
"So, we're going to have our hands full when we play Jalen. His success in college speaks for itself. He had some real highs and got knocked down a little bit when Tua (Tagovailoa) came in. And he stepped right back up again for Alabama and helped them finish off a championship, and then moved over to Oklahoma (and had success there). (It) seems like everywhere he goes he just wins. So, hats off to him."
After entering the training camp as the third option at quarterback for the Cowboys, Prescott, a fourth-round pick, was suddenly thrust into the starting role after Kellen Moore and Tony Romo suffered injuries in the preseason. Prescott would never look back as he took over the starting job from Romo and led the Cowboys to 13-3 record and the top-seed in the NFC.
As for Hurts' chances of becoming a Cowboy, Jones says they were interested in drafting him in the 2020 draft, but settled for Ben DiNucci in the seventh-round. Meanwhile, Hurts was surprisingly taken by the Eagles in the second-round.
Jones indicated that Dallas had an interest in Hurts, but they weren't willing to spend a high draft pick on a player that would backup their franchise quarterback in Prescott. Even with Carson Wentz in tow, the Eagles felt differently and surprised everyone when they drafted Hurts in the second-round.
"We looked at him really hard. Obviously, our guy is Dak, but at the same time, Mike's (McCarthy) is a big proponent of continuing to look at quarterbacks, and he (Hurts) went off the board as he should of there in the second-round. We, certainly, had interest in him. But, as I've said all along, our complete commitment is to Dak Prescott. And we look forward to getting his deal finished. He's the leader of the team and we certainly miss him."