Not only is Jalen Hurts good looking, filthy rich, and one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, he also happens to be a freakishly strong ex-powerlifter.
The future Eagles QB squatted an incredible 600lbs during his time in college
The Philadelphia Eagles star appeared on teammate Jason Kelce and his brother Travis Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ podcast last year where they discussed Hurts’ powerlifting days. “Everybody knows you’re the ‘Squat Machine’,'” Jason said to Hurts. “They just don’t let that one go,” Hurts laughed in response.
The QB revealed he got into powerlifting after following his father Averion’s advice and copying his brother who was also a lifter at the time. “I always had strength as a kid but it came outta nowhere,” Hurts told the Kelces.
As a youngster at Channelview High School in Texas, Hurts participated in football, shot put, track, and baseball, but after sustaining an injury his father encouraged him to take up powerlifting in order to build up his strength. It wasn’t long before Jalen was competing in powerlifting meets, where, as a sophomore, he successfully squatted 440 pounds. At a meet during his junior year in high school he squatted 570 pounds while also bench-pressing 275 pounds and dead-lifting 585 pounds.
In Hurts, the Eagles have one of the most devastating quarterbacks in the league
According to AL.com, a 15-year-old Hurts competed in the 198-pound weight class, and placed second out of 85 lifters while qualifying for a Texas state powerlifting meet. Hurts eventually started his college career at Alabama where he continued to share his powerlifting exploits.
According to AL.com, a 15-year-old Hurts competed in the 198-pound weight class, and placed second out of 85 lifters while qualifying for a Texas state powerlifting meet. Hurts eventually started his college career at Alabama where he continued to share his powerlifting exploits.
The future NFL star transferred to Oklahoma in 2019 where he shocked fans and teammates alike by squatting 600 pounds in the Sooners weight room. Only three other guys, all linemen, were able to get past Hurts’ lift. “You ain’t squatting that much though now,” Jason Kelce told his teammate on his podcast.
Jason Kelce revealed Hurts’ nickname is Squat Machine due to his freakish strength
“I could,” a confident Hurts responded. Hurts’ feats of strength have continued in recent years, including a 620-pound deadlift he did in the 2021 off season. Hurts appeared on Monday Night Football’s Manningcast with Peyton and Eli Manning in 2022 where he revealed he still lifts heavy to this day – something that surprised teammate Jason Kelce.
“What’s funny is, Jason Kelce sometimes gives me a hard time about, sometimes he catches me squatting the same amount of weight he’s squatting in the weight room,” Hurts said. “He’s like, ‘What are you doing this for?’ …For real, I did that (at Oklahoma) because I was new to the team and new in Norman.” It’s fair to say that all that work in the weight room is certainly paying off now.
The ‘Tush Push’ extraordinaire is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the league, and has emerged as the MVP frontrunner in recent weeks. His Eagles team boast the best record in the NFL (10-1) while Hurts has 2,697 passing yards for 18 touchdown passes and a quarterback rating of 94.9. He also has 410 rushing yards, 49 rushing first downs and 11 rushing touchdowns, proving he is just as deadly on the ground as he is through the air.
