Super Bowl LVII: Jalen Hurts-Patrick Mahomes share Texas connection
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes hit the field in Super Bowl LVII, they'll make history as the first two Black quarterbacks to start against each other in the big game. That's not the only thing the two have in common.
Hurts and Mahomes are both Texas natives and played high school football in the Lone Star State before eventually becoming starting quarterbacks in the NFL.
Mahomes is a few years older than Hurts, but the Eagles quarterback said he had a lot of respect for Kansas City's signal caller when he was in high school.
"Texas is so big," Hurts said. "I'd turn on the TV, he's a little older than me too, but turn on the TV and you had a Texas high school football late-night show, and it runs throughout the whole state. And you see what he's doing in east Texas. You have Houston, you have Dallas, San Antonio, you have so many areas. And at Whitehouse, I think he went to Whitehouse, he was always lighting it up over there, so I always had a lot of respect for him and was always watching from afar."
It's cliché, but high school football is bigger in Texas than every other state. Some high schools have stadiums and scoreboards that resemble small colleges.
Mahomes played high school football at Whitehouse, just east of Dallas. He was a three-star recruit in the 2014 class, according to 247Sports, and stayed in the Lone Star State to play at Texas Tech in college. Mahomes also had offers from Oklahoma State and Rice.
Mahomes was named Texas Associated Press Sports Editors' Player of the Year in 2013.
About four hours away from Mahomes at Whitehouse, Hurts played high school football at Channelview in the eastern section of Houston.
Hurts was recruited harder than Mahomes coming out of high school and ranked as a better prospect. 247sports ranked him as a four-star recruit and the fourth-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the 2016 class.
Hurts had offers from Arizona, Houston, Kansas and Kansas State, but committed to Alabama in 2015. He eventually transferred to Oklahoma after losing his starting job with the Crimson Tide.
In his junior season in high school, Hurts was named the District 21-6A Overall MVP.
Hurts and Mahomes faced off early in the 2021 season, a game the Eagles lost 42-30.
A lot has changed for both teams since that game but Hurts said the Eagles will need to go out there doing what they've done all year in the big game.
"They had a really good team last year and they have a really good team this year," Hurts said. "I think, in terms of us, we just have to go out there and do what we we've done all year, just go out there and try and execute at a high level. We know we have a huge challenge in front of us with what they do on defense and their front seven and how active they are up-front. We just want to go out there and play clean."