Scroll To See More Images
He may have millions of fans across the country, but to Jalen Hurts’ parents, including his mother Pamela Hurts and father Averion Hurts, he’s just their son.
Jalen is the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League. He was born on August 7, 1998, and was raised in Channelview, Texas, where his dad worked as a high school football coach and his mom worked as a special education teacher. “I have a foundation kind of set for myself, but my parents did that for me,” Jalen said of his mother and father at a press conference in 2023. “And I think being a coach’s kid, they created habits for me to see things a certain way, have the wisdom that I have, and I give all the credit to them.”
In an interview on Good Morning Football at the time, Jalen’s father also opened up about what it was like to watch him grow up and become the NFL quarterback he is today. “It’s a blessing to watch a young man that developed a passion for a sport and really, really worked hard at every level and every turn,” he said. “It’s just something he was obsessed with and it’s really remarkable to see the journey and to be a part of it … It’s humbling as a parent and as a coach.”
So who are Jalen Hurts’ parents? Read on for what we know about Jalen Hurts’ parents and how his father and mother raised him to become one of the hottest and most interesting NFL quarterbacks to watch right now.
Who are Jalen Hurts’ parents? Meet his mother, Pamela Hurts, and father, Averion Hurts, ahead.
Who is Jalen Hurts’ mother, Pamela Hurts?
Pamela Hurts is Jalen Hurts’ mother. Pamela works as a Math Special Education Teacher at Anthony Aguirre Junior High School in the Channelview Independent School District, which Jalen’s high school, Channelview High School in Channelview, Texas, is also a part of. Pamela has a Bachelors of Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Education Counseling. “My name is Pamela Hurts. I am the Math Special Education Teacher for grades 6-8 and Special Services Department Chair at LCPL Anthony Aguirre Junior High School,” Pamela wrote in her biography on Anthony Aguirre Junior High School’s website. “I am entering my 8th year in education. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Counseling. This will be my 5th year in the Channelview District. I am very excited for the upcoming 2017-18 school year. It is my belief that all students can learn, we as educators must teach the way they learn. I look forward to meeting my new students and seeing my returning students. This is going to be a PHENOMENAL year!”
According to her Linkedin, Pamela graduated from LeTourneau University in 2004 with a degree in Business Administration and Management. Before her current career, she worked as a Fitness Professional with ClubCorp and as a Special Education Teacher with the Channelview Independent School District.
In 2018, Jalen, who played for Alabama University’s Alabama Crimson Tide football team at the time, came under criticism after he gave an interview about the team’s coaches, which some fans interpreted as critical of the team. “Coaches can’t control the situation. They will dictate who plays, but as for other variations to it they can’t control it,” he said. “This whole spring, ever since the title game, they kind of wanted to let it play out. I guess they didn’t think it was a thing or they tried to let it die down like it was not there, because there has always been an elephant in the room. The whole spring, coaches included, no one asked me how I felt. No one asked me what was on my mind.” He continued, “I told him [ coach Nick Saban] in June that I would be here. It was never a decision made regarding me leaving. That was something that the general media placed on me and it’s something I never said. With that, I told him I’ll be here. And then they talk about how I’m about to graduate in January and how I should leave.”
In a Facebook status at the time, Pamela responded to the criticism and maintained that her son wa speaking his “truth.” “Wow ignorance is blissed,” her Facebook status read. “When has Jalen ever spoken to media about anything other than the team? When has he ever whined, pouted or talk about what ‘y’all’ don’t know takes place behind the scenes? There’s a reason why players aren’t allowed to speak to the media. Jalen spoke his truth, finally, after 3 years of being compliant and controlled. You have no idea what is and has been going on—and most likely, never will.” She continued, “Folks quick to speak highly on his character and demeanor, but know he is completely opposite of those accolades today. If you can turn on this young man today and not your president for any of his rhetoric, you were never with him to begin with.”
Who is Jalen Hurts’ father, Averion Hurts?
Averion Hurts is Jalen Hurts’ father. Jalen works as the Head Football Coach for Channelview High School, which Jalen graduated from in 2016 and was also on the football team for. Averion also graduated from Channelview High School in 1986 and was played football, like his son, and ran track. “Averion Hurts is entering his 9th season as Head Coach at Channelview High School, where he graduated in 1986. He attended Howard Payne University on a football and track scholarship. He graduated from HPU in 1990 with a Bachelors Degree in Marketing,” Averion wrote in his biography on Channelview High School’s website. “Howard Payne, he earned All-Conference as a senior offensive linemen. He was six time All American in track and field. Coach Hurts found a home in education in 1994, after a knee injury ended his professional football career. He began his teaching career in Pasadena Independent School District at Parkview Intermediate, teaching in the Adaptive Behavior Unit.
His biography continued, “After two years, he followed his calling to the football field. His coaching career started at MacArthur High School in Aldine Independent School District. He spent six years at MacArthur, leaving as the Second Assistant. Coach Hurts then headed east to Baytown Lee High School for four years where he would become Defensive Coordinator in 2005. In 2006 he returned home to be the Head Coach at Channelview High School. He has been married for 16 years, and has three children. Averion, his child, was a 2012 graduate from Channelview High School. His middle child Jalen is a Junior at Channelview now. His only daughter, Kynnedy is in the fourth grade.”
In an interview with 6 ABC in 2023, Averion claimed that Jalen got his “cool customer” vibe from his father. “We’re extremely proud. We’re happy for just his entire journey. It’s been a heck of a ride and, you know, not done yet. But it’s been very humbling and it’s a blessing,” Averion said after news at the time that Jalen and the Philadelphia Eagles would be competing in the 2023 Super Bowl. Averion described Jalen with one word: “determined.” “That’s just him by nature. He is a very driven, very determined person. Whatever he sets his mind to, he locks in on it and he goes for it,” he said. “He’s very steadfast in what he believes in and he doesn’t allow any outside factors to deter him.”
Averion also told the local news station about what it was like to raise Jalen as both his coach and father. “I think being a coach’s kid just means you’re around football, you’re around a field house or whatever that sport is all the time,” he said. “When you’re a coach’s kid, it’s a little extra stuff when you’re growing up because people are gonna think you’re gonna get favoritism and things like that because your dad’s the coach… that puts you learning to be mature at a faster rate at a younger age.”
He also told ABC 6 about what it was like for Jalen and the Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the second team in the 2023 Super Bowl, to be the first Black quarterbacks to compete against each other in the Super Bowl. “I think it’s huge,” Averion said. “We understand how it was and how it’s been for a long time and the narratives that used to be out there on what African Americans could do at the quarterback position.”
Along with Jalen, Averion also coached Jalen’ Eagles quarterback coach, Brian Johnson. “That was a big key or big piece to the puzzle in my opinion because Brian knew him. I coached Brian in high school,” Averion told ABC 27 in 2023. “But then Brian recruited him when he was coaching at Mississippi state. And so Brian knew who the kids was.”
Averion also confirmed that the Jalen fans know is his real son. “Who y’all see in interviews, that’s Jalen. Jalen is even keel. You can’t get too high you can’t get too low,” Averion said. “Football is the thing where you’re one play away. And so you have to approach and cherish each moment. And that’s what he does. That’s his mindset.” He added, “Is this kid like this every day? Is he gonna be here early every day? Is he gonna be here late every day? Is he gonna work like this all the time? And the answer to all of those is yeah.”
He also confirmed that Jalen didn’t just have a goal of competing in the Super Bowl, but also winning it. “For [Jalen] he wouldn’t want to just get there,” Averion said. “When you get there you want to win it. So that’s definitely going to be their mentality is what I would expect.”
Image: Taylor Trade Publishing.
For more about the Super Bowl, football fans can check out When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl
by Harvey Frommer. The best-selling book delves into the history of the first Super Bowl, which was originally known as the AFL-NFL Championship Game. (The term “Super Bowl” was coined only in its third year.) The debut game, between the winning Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, was played in front of only 61,946 people at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum—an audience well below the stadium’s capacity. Harvey Frommer, a sports historian and reporter, puts the tale of that momentous game together using oral history, gathered by hundreds of interviews with players, coaches, media and spectators alike.
Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.
