Jalen Hurts offers a Stoic quote in response to the challenging heat at Eagles practice

USA Today

30-07-2025

Jalen Hurts delivers an inspiring and defiant call to his teammates amid the challenging heat at Eagles training camp practice
Please accept this humble apology, as this one may have come a tad later than was necessary. Sometimes, words are so poignant that they must be analyzed and thought about. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has done this to us more than once.
We've seen teachers tell their classes that 'They had a purpose before anyone had an opinion. We've seen parents, us included, tell their children to stay focused and 'Keep the main thing the main thing'.
That's when it hit us. Jalen Hurts is more than a quarterback. He missed his calling. He should have been a poet or philosopher. Hours have passed since his defiant finger-wag at the forces of Mother Nature, and we're still analyzing (and agonizing over).
"Fatigue makes cowards of us all". Wait... What?
Jalen Hurts gives his Eagles teammates and everyone else their rallying cry.
Forget early practices to avoid temperatures that exceed 100 degrees at the NovaCare Complex. Forget football in general. Let Hurts' words sink in. That's what we did. That's why it took so doggone long to craft this story.
Is this not the most brilliant thing you've heard all week? This is about more than pushing harder to run a little longer. This is wisdom. This is the missing chapter to Sun Tzu's The Art of War. These are words to inspire motivation when one is mentally tired. This is the type of motivational statement that works regardless of one's occupation or calling.
Jalen Hurts has offered those Hurts-isms before, but he has finally outdone himself. Break down a huddle with that one. Write that on the whiteboard. Whisper that in your children's ears before you tuck them in at night. See what type of effort you get then.
Forget 'Let's hunt' and 'It's a Philly Thing'. That's what needs to be placed on a T-shirt. Give us that on a hoodie. While you're at it, press up a few Jason Kelce depictions in the Mummers outfit. We need a new shirt, maybe something in Kelly Green with the words 'Hungry dogs run faster' emblazoned across the chest area.
Jalen Hurts is the star quarterback of football's most loyal and passionate fan base. He's also more than that. He's a wealth of knowledge, one whose gifts reach beyond throwing a tight spiral.
If this NFL thing doesn't work out or if it does, we've found where his future path may take him. Hurts was put on Planet Earth to inspire. It appears he was right. He had a purpose before anyone had an opinion.