Jalen Hurts' future at Oklahoma isn't set in stone.
After transferring from Alabama, where he had 28 career starts, to Oklahoma in order to be the Sooners starting quarterback, coach Lincoln Riley said Hurts still has to earn his place under center.
"He's gotta win the job first," Riley said at Big 12 media days at AT&T Stadium, via ESPN. "If he wins the job, then we'll talk about that."
Hurts will be playing as a graduate transfer after spending three seasons with the Crimson Tide. He put together a 26-2 record as their starter but did not start in 2018, giving way to Tua Tagovailoa.
Now with the Sooners, Hurts will be competing with redshirt freshman Tanner Mordecai and true freshman Spencer Rattler for the job.
"One of them's got to go win it," Riley said. "We've got an interesting dynamic in there with Jalen as an older, more experienced guy that's been through a lot of battles, and we've got some very young, talented players in there with a chance to make a name for themselves. It's really, truly, 'May the best man win.'"
Riley has a knack for quarterback transfers after Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray won consecutive Heisman trophies with the team before both were back-to-back top overall NFL draft selections.
Hurts has completed 62.9% of his passes and thrown for 48 touchdowns, along with 12 interceptions, during his collegiate career. He has also added 23 rushing touchdowns.
"My past success, the things I have done and achieved, those don't help us win any games (at Oklahoma) in the fall," Hurts previously said in his first media appearance after announcing his transfer. "I think the biggest thing for us is creating an identity for ourselves, finding out who we are as a team and then, ultimately, playing ball and getting things done in all phases of the organization this year."