Jalen Hurts quotes Nick Saban with famous ‘rat poison’ line

Jalen Hurts hasn’t played for Nick Saban in a few years, but his former coach certainly had a large influence on the quarterback.

Hurts was asked on Wednesday how he blocks out the media noise. The Philadelphia Eagles said he follows Saban’s advice to avoid the “rat poison.”

A hard hitting question to Jalen Hurts from @RobMaaddi regarding media playing a role on the #Eagles season.

Hurts lays it out very simply, “Stay away from the Rat Poison.” pic.twitter.com/Y4chDHfYy8

— Luke Stansfield (@Luke_StansNFL) December 23, 2020

“I try and stay away from the rat poison,” Hurts explained. “You got to ask Coach Saban. He knows about rat poison too. External factors. I’ve talked about that a little bit.”

Saban first drew attention for his “rat poison” line in 2017, which was Hurts’ second season with the Crimson Tide. A year later he was repeating the line when it came to avoiding distractions. The point stuck with Hurts, who does a good job of blocking out external distractions.

Hurts is getting set for his third NFL start when Philly takes on Dallas in Week 16.