A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts have only been teammates for a week, but their friendship dates back several years.
Brown and Hurts were in the same high school recruiting cycle (2016) and both were recruited by Alabama. In fact, the Crimson Tide were the reason the two became friends in the first place, Brown explained this week during his introductory press conference with the Philadelphia Eagles.
“It started when he was recruiting me to Alabama but I chose Ole Miss,” Brown told reporters about his friendship with Hurts. “But we stayed in contact this entire time. We became close friends and I’m extremely excited to play with him. We always joked about it but we never thought it’d be reality.”
Brown actually officially visited Alabama in January 2016 but wound up picking Ole Miss on National Signing Day.
Now six years later, he and Hurts will finally have the opportunity to play together following last week’s blockbuster trade with the Tennessee Titans.
“He’s always been an excellent player since I’ve known him [before] college,” Hurts said about Brown on Wednesday, via Josh Tolentino of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s always had the ability to make plays with the ball in his hand, use his body, box out defenders, break tackles. He’s a great addition to a great receiver room we have now, and I’m excited.”