"White Shirt represents Alabama": When Eagles QB Jalen Hurts' incredible fourth quarter discipline stunned Nick Saban

Nick Saban had an incredible seventeen-season stint with the Alabama Crimson Tide. And throughout his time as the head coach in Tuscaloosa, Saban's camp has given birth to several NFL stars, such as Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and others.

One of the most prevalent traditions of the Crimson Tide is the fourth-quarter conditioning program.

This conditioning program refers to a system that involves focusing on legwork and running by dynamically increasing the intensity. The fourth-quarter conditioning helps Bama players maintain energy throughout the end moments of the game when their rivals on the field usually end up using all of their strength.

And despite leaving Bama for the NFL, Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts continued to accommodate the fourth-quarter tradition in his training camps and press conferences ahead of Super Bowl 57.

This very instance led Nick Saban to praise his former player while speaking to Bill Cowher of The 33rd team last year (2023) in an interview.

The former Alabama HC stated that he decided on using the press conference video of Jalen Hurts talking about the fourth quarter in his war room rather than talking about its importance himself.

"I usually like to wear white shirt at practice sometimes. So it's a white shirt, you know represents Bama fourth quarter. Commitment, discipline, effort, toughness and pride so fun shirt", Hurts said in his press conference ahead of Super Bowl 57.

Nick Saban was visibly elated with the fact that his former QB continued to represent the team despite going on to play professionally in the NFL.

"It's our shirt. Our fourth quarter t-shirt. He's wearing it in practice in camp and he's at a press conference talking about the importance of winning in the fourth quarter. So I said just give me that I'm putting that up on the board today."

Jalen Hurts spent three seasons under Nick Saban in Alabama from 2016 to 2018. He then decided to spend his final collegiate season with Oklahoma before being drafted 53rd overall in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Eagles.

During his stint in Tuscaloosa, he went on to win the National Championship with Alabama in 2017, where he recorded 2,081 passing yards and 17 TD passes that campaign.

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Kalen DeBoer to continue Nick Saban's fourth-quarter conditioning program

The expectations now lie with former Washington HC Kalen DeBoer in Tuscaloosa. DeBoer was named as Saban's replacement quickly after he announced his retirement back in January.

As DeBoer continues to prepare his debut campaign with the team, he stated that despite making quite a few changes, he is going to continue the former HC's fourth-quarter program.

"We kept it pretty consistent with what it's been. The guys can tell you it's something they feel really strongly about", DeBoer said in an press meet.

Do you think Kalen DeBoer can continue Saban's legacy with the Alabama Crimson Tide? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.