Baylor Football

Former Baylor defensive end Shawn Oakman said Tuesday that he sold a bowl ring in order to pay for legal fees associated with a sexual assault case against him. 

In an interview special with Ben Raymond called Shawn Oakman: The Rebirth, Oakman discussed what lengths he had to go to in order to contest the sexual assault allegations against him:

"Basically I had one of my bowl game rings. I sold my bowl game ring on eBay ... to pay for my lawyer," Oakman said.

Baylor lost the Fiesta Bowl and Cotton Bowl in 2013 and 2014, respectively, but the Bears were victorious in the 2015 Russell Athletic Bowl during Oakman's tenure.

Oakman said he also sunk thousands into defending himself before eventually settling on a public defender: "I went through two paid lawyers. The second lawyer, it got all the way to trial. The week before she needed $60K just to step in the courtroom. I already gave her $60K ... but she needed $60K just to step into the courtroom, so she dropped my case. I didn't have it."

Just days before the 2016 NFL draft, Oakman was faced with sexual assault allegations, which resulted in him going undrafted.

In February, Oakman was acquitted of forcible rape. Oakman denied any wrongdoing throughout the case and said he had consensual sex with the woman.

A drop-off in production as a senior at Baylor in 2015 likely would have resulted in Oakman lasting past the first round of the 2016 NFL draft, but he almost certainly would have been selected, perhaps as early as the second round.

Prior to recording 43 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks as a senior, Oakman finished with 52 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks as a junior in 2014.

Now 27 years of age, Oakman's only professional football experience is as part of the American Arena League, Champions Indoor Football and The Spring League.

When he walked away from an elite college football program and the position that would have likely made him a first-round NFL draft pick, Jalen Hurd was simply betting on Jalen Hurd.

Hurd had done extensive research. He hadn't made his highly publicized 2016 decision "on a whim," as he explained in a July 2018 interview with Bleacher Report's Matt Hayes. Rather, he was wagering on his long-term future. "Running backs last 3.5 years in the NFL. Wide receivers can last 10 or more years," Hurd said. "Receivers are more valued than running backs in the NFL, and I can play this game a lot longer and can be more valuable as a receiver.

"It's not just a position and career change, it's a life change. Baylor is reinventing itself. I'm reinventing myself. We both have a lot to prove."

In 12 games as a full-time Baylor receiver, the former 1,200-yard rusher in the SEC didn't disappoint: He amassed 69 receptions, 946 receiving yards and four touchdowns for the Bears. But stellar numbers haven't quelled the uncertainty that lingers about his divorce from the Volunteers, his mid-college-tenure change of heart and his credentials as a big slot receiver at the professional level.

"If he were my son, I would have kept him at running back," says Jim Nagy, a draft analyst and executive director of the Senior Bowl, who served as an NFL scout for 18 years. "Wide receiver is a dime-a-dozen position. I understand the rationale that they play longer, and you can have a longer career, but the receiver position is a dime a dozen. … It's very watered down. The league wants big running backs—there's not very many of those. So, he went from a position of scarcity to a watered-down position, which philosophically didn't make a lot of sense to me."

But agreeing on degrees of scarcity isn't easy, and few would disagree that 6'5" wide receivers with the ability to contribute in the offensive backfield are also scarce.

"I'm a true receiver," he told the media at the combine, per Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official website. "But, also, you can also have an elite running back if I'm back in that position, as well." He later added, per Erik Bacharach of the Tennessean: "I can make the spectacular catch, I can make the routine catches, I can make the cross-middle catches, but then when you actually get the ball in my hands, then I'm a running back in space. So that's definitely, I would say, intriguing to people."

That Hurd is "down to do anything"—and can do anything—is a case for and against him. On the one hand, his ability to adapt demonstrates his potential. On the other hand, that skill set comes with a unique set of challenges.

If he were my son, I would have kept him at running back—longtime scout Jim Nagy

"You have to have a really clear vision of how he fits on the team," says Dan Hatman, a former Eagles, Jets and Giants scout, who now serves as director of scouting development at the Scouting Academy. "You have teams that have very clear profiles, and if he's not a clear profile fit to what you've been doing, you have to debate it: Does your staff get excited about his skill set and whether or not they're going to want to craft a new profile? That may be a yes or a no. And then you have other programs where he immediately fits into a profile that they're ready or want to create."

That vetting process must be considered, says former Eagles, Redskins and Chiefs scout and active NFL team personnel consultant Dan Shonka. "You really have to want him on your team," Shonka adds. "You've gotta have a role in mind for him before you draft him."

Hurd's unique situation makes him particularly difficult to evaluate. Does he have too much baggage? Should the position change be considered a red flag? How exactly should a talent like Hurd be assessed?

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Of the several well-connected former scouts who spoke on the record about Hurd, all agree there is digging to be done. "I think teams just have to investigate and figure out why the player made the change," says former NFL pro scouting director Mike McCartney, who now works as a player agent. "I think if the player really believes he's better-suited at a different position and the skill set does indicate that, then it makes sense to make a change. I don't remember too many position-change issues where it was really a red flag—as long as the player produces."

Scouts agree there are cases in which position changes could be construed as acts of desperation for prospects who just aren't cutting it, but those scenarios are hard to miss. That can be determined if a scout does his due diligence to find out whether a prospect's coaching staff tried to jam a square peg into a non-square hole.

"If they're like, 'Listen, we looked at him in four, five, six spots, and that's the only place he could function,' and that doesn't necessarily translate," Hatman says, "I'm going to have a real hard time making a case for that guy unless we can somehow objectively assess that their coaching staff is incompetent."

It's not clear what happened to Hurd in Knoxville. NFL.com's Chase Goodbread reported in February that when Hurd bailed on the Volunteers midway through the 2016 campaign, his relationship with Tennessee head coach Butch Jones "had been strained for almost two years," adding that the two "never saw eye to eye" on Hurd's role. Last month, Hurd said Jones and his staff insisted he play in the backfield. "He told me that he wanted me to play one role in the offense, and that role was at running back," Hurd told Justin Melo of Music City Miracles. "He wanted me to play what he wanted me to play, and that was about it."

Add the fact that Tennessee also had Alvin Kamara on the roster in 2015 and 2016, and the picture gets fuzzier for a scout to parse. "I think the most important thing is to try to get as good a feel as you can as to what happened at Tennessee," says Nagy. "You need to get a handle on that and why that circumstance happened. There's a lot of dynamics, because this is a radical shift from being a 240-pound running back to a 215-pound wideout. You have to get a feel for a person, then you have to evaluate the athlete."

There are more questions. Regarding his transfer, Hurd said he was happy to be in a "less crazed" environment at Baylor. Does that mean he'll have trouble in a more "crazed" NFL environment like Philadelphia, Dallas, Pittsburgh or Green Bay?

What about Hurd's durability? He has had his share of injuries: He suffered a late-season knee injury, which caused him to miss a bowl game and most of the predraft process; he endured two concussions at Tennessee, per Wyatt; he has successfully completed just two full seasons since he was a senior in 2013 at Beech High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where a shoulder injury cost him almost his entire senior season. He has publicly wondered how long he will last.

Then again, there is evidence Hurd has matured. He's demonstrated commitment to his adopted position, and Baylor head coach Matt Rhule has praised Hurd heavily for his strong work ethic and selflessness. Hurd has also admitted he should have at least finished the 2016 season with the Vols—an approach that is likely to win over scouts and general managers.

"Damn right. Looking back at it, yeah, I should've waited it out. I should have finished the season even if I wouldn't have played again," Hurd told Goodbread. "I don't think I'd be looked at in the same negative light I am now. But I didn't see that at the time. I regret it, but it wasn't a decision I made lightly. There would be less to explain now."

Hurd's short tenure as a wide receiver isn't the sole reason for teams to exercise caution. It also highlights something elemental about the draft process.

"The one thing that every team has to balance for a lot of players—and this will be the same for him, as he's only had one year at the position—is how much developing is needed versus how much upside there is," McCartney says. "Some teams will figure there's a lot of development left, and he might not have a way to play right away. Other teams may look at it and say, 'Hey, he's got a lot of upside, and he's only going to get better and better because he's only done it one year.' It just depends—every team is different."

Some scouts noted that a lot will hinge on Hurd's malleability. Shonka can see him excelling as a wing back "if he's willing to block." But for that to work, Nagy says, the player's got to be agreeable.

"You'd have to get a handle on how willing and open he would be to maybe doing some stuff as a third-down back out of the backfield," he says. "I get that the kid doesn't want to be an every-down banger at the running back position, but how open would he be to lining up in the backfield in some situations? Because there has to be buy-in from the player. He doesn't offer any versatility if he's not going to buy in to the role."

He goes on, "Teams really need to focus on spending as much time with Jalen as they possibly can."

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The most experienced football minds still diverge when it comes to the pivotal decision Hurd made in 2016. One school of thought says Hurd made a smart move because it's difficult to perform the duties of an NFL running back at 6'5". "It's really hard to be that long and move in those kinds of areas," Hatman said. That there wasn't a single back in pro football last season who was taller than 6'3" is illustrative of this. "There's diminishing returns. There's a reason why we see running backs be closer to 5'9" than 6'3". This happens at corner as well. … Those really small, nuanced footwork patterns are just hard if you've got long limbs. Biomechanically it's a lot more to move. That doesn't mean they can't do it, but generally speaking it's a lot harder to execute."

Others view Hurd's length as a differentiating factor that could have allowed him to be a special running back, like a modern-day Eric Dickerson. Hurd tends to play smaller than he is and has a sneaky elusiveness. (In a recent interview with Melo for Draft Wire, Hurd attributed this to that fact that he was "small for basically my entire life" before hitting a growth spurt in high school.)

The split is indicative of the crapshoot the draft is. Hurd's decision to buy stock in himself and short his original position could eventually be looked back on as a stroke of genius. The reality is slot receivers are in, and running backs are not. This is the most pass-happy era in NFL history, which means backs are losing value—i.e. commanding less money. If pro football is leaving the running back position behind, those at the position with the talent to play elsewhere are smart to consider alternatives.

We might never know whether Hurd made the right call. But his story consists of more than a simple position change. His case is complicated. Maybe even, according to Hurd, unprecedented.

"Point me in the direction of somebody who's done what I've done," Hurd told Melo in the Music City Miracles interview. "When have we seen an elite running back become an elite wide receiver?"

It's arguable if Hurd has become "elite" at his new position, but given the state of the game, it might just be a matter of time. Ty Montgomery made the opposite switch as a wide receiver-turned-running back. Richard Sherman was a receiver before he became a cornerback. J.J. Watt and Jason Peters were tight ends before they went on to star at defensive end and offensive tackle, respectively. Julian Edelman is one of several former quarterbacks who have excelled elsewhere. No running back has successfully switched to receiver.

Hurd could be that trendsetter. But ask scouts, and they'll tell you there's plenty of work to be done on multiple fronts.   

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012. Follow him at @Brad_Gagnon.

A federal judge ruled the law firm hired by Baylor University to investigate the handling of sexual assault allegations at the school must turn over documents related to the investigation, according to the Associated Press' David Warren. 

In May 2016, Baylor's board of regents released a findings of fact report from Pepper Hamilton law firm. The report outlined what Pepper Hamilton determined to be "institutional failures at every level of Baylor’s administration" but offered only a limited picture as to what the firm discovered during the course of its investigation.

"This is the stuff that's been hidden for three years that substantiates and gives the details behind the failures that were acknowledged by the regents," said Jim Dunnam, who's representing the plaintiffs in federal Title IX lawsuits against the university, per Warren.

Baylor shared a summary of Pepper Hamilton's report and recommendations when the firm concluded its inquiry.

"Actions by University administrators directly discouraged some complainants from reporting or participating in student conduct processes and in one instance constituted retaliation against a complainant for reporting sexual assault," the school wrote.

Pepper Hamilton also determined members of the football program and officials in the athletic department showed a "failure to identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player and to a report of dating violence."

In April 2016, ESPN's Paula Lavigne reported Baylor had received in 2013 a report from police in Waco, Texas, about an alleged sexual assault that involved now-former football players Tre'Von Armstead and Myke Chatman. Baylor didn't start a formal investigation of its own until 2015.

Another former football player, Tevin Elliott, received a 20-year prison sentence in January 2014 after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a female student in 2012.

Jasmin Hernandez filed a lawsuit against Baylor in March 2016, claiming the university "was negligent because officials had notice that Elliott had sexually assaulted at least one other student and failed to take reasonable measures to prevent him from hurting others."

Hernandez and Baylor reached a financial settlement in August 2017.

Following the release of Pepper Hamilton's findings of fact report, Baylor fired head coach Art Briles and demoted university president Ken Starr. Athletic director Ian McCaw resigned as well.

A Texas jury found former Baylor Bears defensive lineman Shawn Oakman not guilty of raping a female student in 2016, according to TMZ Sports.

Police arrested Oakman in April 2016 after a woman alleged he sexually assaulted her after they left a nightclub in Waco, Texas.

"The woman who says she was raped testified earlier that she'd been drinking and was intoxicated when Oakman assaulted her," per ESPN.com. "She said she told Oakman that she wanted to leave his duplex that night but he wouldn't allow it."

Oakman's lawyer argued in court he and the woman had engaged in consensual sex.

The Waco Tribune-Herald's Tommy Witherspoon reported in December that prosecutors had offered Oakman a deal that would've seen him receive deferred probation if he had pleaded guilty.

Oakman left Baylor following the 2015 season with the intention of moving on to the NFL. He went undrafted in the 2016 draft.

Oakman's departure came as Baylor received increased scrutiny for how it handled allegations of sexual assault. ESPN.com's Paula Lavigne reported in one instance that Waco police informed school officials about allegations of an assault in 2013 but that the university didn't begin looking into the situation until September 2015.

Rivals.com's Alex Dunlap also obtained a police report from 2013 that centered on an alleged assault by Oakman on an ex-girlfriend. The woman declined to press charges.

Baylor hired law firm Pepper Hamilton to conduct an investigation into whether the university fulfilled its obligations under Title IX to properly address sexual assault allegations. In a press release, Baylor wrote that Pepper Hamilton "found specific failings within both the football program and Athletics department leadership, including a failure to identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player and to a report of dating violence."

Baylor fired Art Briles in the wake of the report, while athletic director Ian McCaw resigned.

Baylor and former head football coach Art Briles reportedly received a notice of allegations from the NCAA approximately three weeks ago.

Mac Engel of the Star-Telegram reported the news, noting the formal notice means the NCAA completed its investigation into Baylor that started in June 2017. The school has 90 days to respond to the notice.

Engel cited sources who said NCAA allegations against Briles are included under a head coach's section on "failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance," while a "lack of institutional control" was one of the allegations levied against Baylor.

The investigation was centered on the university's handling of sexual assault complaints and potential Title IX violations.

Dennis Dodd and Adam Silverstein of CBSSports.com noted 19 former football players were accused of either sexual or domestic assault from 2011 to 2016 by 17 different women. A lawsuit that has been settled said 31 players committed 52 acts of rape, per Ryan Young of Yahoo Sports.

An investigation by the Pepper Hamilton law firm found "specific failings within both the football program and athletic department leadership" as well as "significant concerns about the tone and culture within Baylor's football program as it relates to accountability for all forms of student-athlete misconduct," per Sam Cooper of Yahoo Sports.

Briles was ultimately fired and paid $18 million in 2016, while former athletic director Ian McCaw resigned. President Ken Starr was also fired.

As for the notice's impact on Briles, Engel cited sources who think the NCAA will avoid giving the coach a show-cause penalty after a potential hearing process. Briles coaches a team in Florence, Italy, and hasn't found a head coaching job in major college football since his departure from Baylor.

Engel also added more context to Baylor's potential punishments, pointing out past violations are sometimes considered. The men's and women's basketball teams each committed infractions in 2012 that resulted in self-imposed punishment and a loss of scholarships.

According to Engel, the NCAA also weighs steps the school has taken to address the problems. "Baylor has said it has put in more than 100 measures to update its Title IX compliance and modernize how it addresses sexual assault claims," he wrote.

The NCAA will have 60 days to issue an ensuing reply when Baylor responds to this notice.

Ricardo Benitez, who is a 4'2", 100-pound wide receiver, was born without femurs and told he may never walk, but that didn't stop the Texas native from pursuing his dream of playing football. 

After attending Baylor coach Matt Rhule's football camp, the 18-year-old committed to the school as a non-scholarship player. Benitez was about $20,000 short of being able to go to Baylor but has a GoFundMe campaign to help raise the funds.

For more, watch the video above or donate to Benitez's campaign on GoFundMe.

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Baylor University officials denied a report Tuesday that university lawyers recommended a one-year, self-imposed bowl ban in relation to the NCAA's investigation into sexual assault allegations made against former Baylor football players.

According to ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach, Baylor officials called the Fort Worth Star-Telegram report "irresponsible" and "premature."

The officials added that the NCAA investigation is still ongoing.

On Tuesday, Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the investigation recently took a "left turn," leading to the recommendation to self-impose sanctions in an effort to avoid an even more stringent punishment.

Per Engel, the NCAA has interviewed former Baylor head football coach Art Briles and former Baylor president Kenneth Starr, both of whom were ousted in 2016 as a result of the school's handling of sexual assault allegations. The NCAA has reportedly also spoken with former Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw.

Engel added that Baylor has likely been charged with lack of institutional control.

Regarding the report, Baylor released the following statement:

"It is irresponsible to report that Baylor is considering a football bowl ban for the 2018 season when in fact the NCAA investigation into the prior football staff and previous athletics administration remains active and ongoing. Additionally, it is premature to speculate as to what the University's sanctions will be at this point in time."

Per Schlabach, a total of 22 women have filed 10 Title IX lawsuits against Baylor. Of those 22 women, 20 have said they were sexually or physically assaulted.

Last season was Baylor's first under head coach Matt Rhule, and the Bears struggled mightily to the tune of a 1-11 record, marking their first sub-.500 finish since 2009.

Despite that, expectations are higher entering 2018 due to the progression of quarterback Charlie Brewer and a stacked receiving corps.

Art Briles could be on the verge of coaching football again. 

In Italy.

The former Baylor coach reportedly is "very interested" in coaching a football team based in Florence, Italy, per Mac Engel of the Star-Telegram. Briles has been unable to find coaching work following his firing from Baylor after allegedly helping cover up widespread acts of sexual abuse by players on the Bears football roster.

A deal is reportedly "in the works."

American football is not nearly as popular in Italy but might be Briles' only avenue to return to coaching. He was briefly hired by a Canadian football team last year before backlash caused them to sever ties.

Baylor paid Briles $17.9 million as part of a buyout agreement when he was let go. Briles has maintained he did not help cover up any acts of impropriety by Baylor football players. He coached the Bears from 2008-2015.

Former Baylor defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said no member of the Bears' coaching staff under former head coach Art Briles ever covered up accusations of sexual assault made against members of the football team, according to Mac Engel of the Star-Telegram. 

"Never. If I had heard about it, trust me ... no," he said in an interview published Wednesday. "My integrity, and I could say this when I was 29, my integrity was more important than any job I ever had."

He also said he believes Briles should be allowed to coach again.

"Every night I say a prayer for him because, without question, I think he deserves to (coach again)," Bennett said.

In May 2016, Briles was fired after an ESPN Outside The Lines report alleged the school did not properly deal with sexual assault allegations against its student-athletes, including members of the football program. Baylor also fired president Ken Starr.

Two former Baylor football players, Tevin Elliott and Sam Ukwuachu, were convicted of rape in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Shawn Oakman was indicted on sexual assault charges shortly after the OTL report surfaced. 

In his interview with Engel, Bennett said he felt the Pepper Hamilton investigation of the school's Title IX protocol was a sham, that the school didn't have a Title IX procedure in place before the investigation and said he believed Briles had handled himself correctly during his time as the head coach.

"Art had done right, and it started to affect him," Bennett said. "He would say to me, 'I could have done more.' I would say, 'What would you do different?' He said, 'I don't know. Go to the police?' We did not have Title IX until after all of this stuff."

He added: "The system was not in place. The system failed us. It failed them, and it failed the kids."

Baylor responded to Bennett's interview. The following is an excerpt from their response:

"The underlying situation of what happened at Baylor is quite simple. Two high-profile cases of sexual assault involving football players led the Baylor Board of Regents to launch an independent investigation of not only the football program but of the entire campus in terms of how reports of sexual violence were handled during a four-year period. The results of this investigation were outlined in a Findings of Fact document that led to sweeping leadership changes and a slate of 105 recommendations for improvement.

"The facts concerning Baylor's past handling of incidents of sexual assault have not changed, and the University remains confident in the personnel changes made as a result. The latest assertions about the investigation, claims of racism and a cover-up continue to trade on baseless conspiracy theories and outright speculation."

WACO, Texas — He's either a selfless teammate who put his body on the line week after week or a loner who abandoned his team.

He's either wise to have walked away from millions in the NFL to reinvent himself as a player and open the door to a longer career in the league or selfish and foolish for deciding to chase an impossible dream.

"Heard it all," Jalen Hurd says, shaking his head in resignation, and there's little doubt that part of him wonders why he agreed to this interview in the first place.

He has kept a low profile by choice, from his last day as anointed savior of the Tennessee program to his now-welcomed obscurity at a Baylor program left for dead—for a couple more months, anyway.

Because when football begins in September, when Jalen Hurd 2.0 is reintroduced to college football and the one-time, can't-miss, 6'4", 240-pound prototype NFL tailback re-emerges as a sleek and sinewy 220-pound wide receiver, those same weighty expectations he left in the rearview mirror in Knoxville will find him again.

"He's going to play a long time in the NFL—as a wide receiver," says Baylor head coach Matt Rhule, who in January turned down the Indianapolis Colts job to stay in the college game. "He will be an elite wide receiver."

Rhule makes that statement without a hint of hesitation, a surprise considering how Hurd got here. His journey—from legendary high school recruit, to star tailback on pace to set a boatload of school records, to everything and everyone turning on him—makes this last chance at Baylor all the more meaningful.

He has one more season of college football at a brand-new position, with millions of dollars on the line.

"All he had to do was finish out that last season at Tennessee, and he gets picked in the middle of the first round, and he's making a lot of money," an NFL scout told Bleacher Report. "Now there's a lot of questions."

When he is told of the scout's assessment, Hurd runs his hands through his tightly cropped hair and takes a deep breath. Why do you walk away from the certainty of a multimillion-dollar contract, take a nearly two-year sabbatical from the game you have played since you were 6 years old, to change positions and play for a program that won once in 2017?

"I didn't just do this on a whim. I researched it," Hurd said. "Running backs last 3.5 years in the NFL. Wide receivers can last 10 or more years. Receivers are more valued than running backs in the NFL, and I can play this game a lot longer and can be more valuable as a receiver. It's not just a position and career change, it's a life change.

"Baylor is reinventing itself; I'm reinventing myself. We both have a lot to prove."

It's a multimillion-dollar gamble.

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After the season opener in 2016, after grinding out another 100-yard game and adding to his 2,000-plus yards in his first two years at Tennessee, Hurd began to seriously consider a career change.

His body ached after an overtime victory over Appalachian State. It was a punishing reminder of his pinballing between the tackles while absorbing the blows that came with those 28 rushing attempts.

He had been carrying the ball, carrying a team, since he first suited up for the Goodlettsville Trojans as a 6-year-old, a mere 20 minutes from Nashville, deep in the heart of Big Orange country. If anyone was going to be a Vol, if anyone would have a street named after them next to Peyton Manning Pass and Tee Martin Drive, it was Hurd.

Until it wasn't.

"The way I took impact that game and the way I felt after was completely different than any other time," Hurd said. "I take care of my body. I know what's going on. After two years of pounding ... I could tell this was taking a toll on my body. When you're 20 years old, that's not a good thing to say."

Hurd pauses here for reflection.

Football is a violent, unforgiving sport. It's also addictive: a rush that can't be replaced, a void that can't be filled. Unless you've tasted it, unless you've bathed and invested in it, there's no explaining it. That's what made this revelation so powerful.

"I woke up and thought, this isn't going to last," Hurd continued. "It could have lasted, but do you really want to cause that much harm to your body?"

Hurd went to the Tennessee staff and asked to be used more on the perimeter and less between the tackles. He thought, who is going to cover, or bring down by himself, a 240-pound tailback in space? The move also would get him more touches as a receiver—the position he quickly realized was his future in the NFL.

The staff nixed the idea, saying he was too important to the running game. He had 63 carries over the next three games and 10 in the fifth contest (against Georgia) before suffering a concussion early in the third quarter and leaving the field. Then it all came unglued.

In the state of Tennessee, among the Big Orange faithful, Hurd's fall from grace went like this. He was benched by coach Butch Jones during the Georgia game after celebrating a touchdown; a week later, when he was held out of the Texas A&M game (under concussion protocol and with a season-long ankle injury that was never disclosed), he became a "quitter" and a "locker room cancer."

Two weeks later, he pulled himself from the South Carolina game, and his Tennessee career was over.

"There's a sign in the locker room that we all touched before heading to the field that says, 'I will give my all for Tennessee,'" a former Vols assistant told Bleacher Report. "If any guy gave his all for that program, it was [Hurd]. He played hurt. He played hard. He did everything he was asked. We started 5-0, then lost three straight, and everyone wanted a fall guy. Guess who that guy was?"

The same guy who, when he arrived for his official recruiting visit to Tennessee, was so popular that he needed security to leave a Vols game. The same guy who, while in a health class at Tennessee, had a student walk up to him with a football to sign—in the middle of a test.

The same guy who carried that ball 589 times in two-and-a-half seasons—primarily between the tackles in a zone-read offense, without a lead blocker—and suddenly in the eyes of Vols fans wasn't needed anymore after his backups, John Kelly and Alvin Kamara, proceeded to feast on lower-tier SEC defenses, an FCS school (Tennessee Tech) and a gutted Nebraska program to finish the 2016 season.

"Personally between me and him, I felt there was some animosity when I got there," said Kamara, the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year last season with the New Orleans Saints. "I was fresh out of Alabama, fresh out of [Hutchinson Community College]. I had a whole different outlook, like where I go, I'm gonna be successful, period—no matter what the circumstance is."

As his role grew larger, Kamara said he sensed that Hurd felt his was "becoming smaller and smaller."

Said another Vols assistant: "I love Alvin to death. He's a great player. He deserves everything he gets. Alvin likes to talk; that feeling of disrespect fuels him. To say Jalen was anything but a team guy busting his ass just isn't truthful."

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He had already visited Ohio State and Louisville, and he was driving to California to work with his trainer when he called Baylor and asked if he could stop by.

"Out of the blue," Baylor assistant coach Evan Cooper said. "He gets here, and we show him the campus; he meets and talks with the coaches and goes back to the hotel. Four hours, tops. Later that night, I get a call, he says: 'Hey, coach, I'm coming. I don't need to see anything else.' A few months later, after the first day of fall camp, we all look at each other like, he's better than we ever could've imagined."

Before he stepped onto a practice field at Baylor, Hurd told Rhule he wanted to make one thing clear: He was no different than anyone else. He'd run scout team, and he wanted others to hit him.

"That's not someone who's running from contact," Rhule said. "That's not someone who isn't a team guy."

That's someone who, knowing the intricacies of the position change and the short time frame to make it happen, accepted the additional burden of running on the scout team while trying to complete a difficult transition.

This isn't simply catching a ball and running after the catch. It's staying late after practice and catching thousands of balls from the Jug machine until it becomes second nature. It's shedding 20 pounds without losing strength and speed.   

It's changing the way you think about the game. From the way you line up, to the way you explode from breaks, to a basic speed cut.

Since his high school days, Hurd had always changed direction with a two-step box cut to shake a defender. Receivers use one-step speed cuts, which eliminate an extra step and increase explosion.

But when you're running through three levels of SEC defenses without a lead blocker and you're getting hit from defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs, the only way out is a box cut.

For the last year, every time Hurd walked around a corner or a building on campus or when he had to turn, he did it planting off one foot.

He had to learn how to get off the jam at the line of scrimmage without affecting the timing of his route. He learned how to highpoint the ball and about leverage with his strong frame that's inching closer to 6'5".

He watches hours and hours of game tape: of specific offenses and defenses, of himself in practice, of other receivers in college and professional football.

One night, he found a red-zone move used by former Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant. He would allow a cornerback to stay close to his body. He would then reach over him at the last possible highpoint moment and snatch the ball. A day later, Hurd had mastered it on the practice field.

He'll likely start out at inside receiver at Baylor but will line up at every wide receiver spot. He'll also return punts.

That's right, return punts.

"That all sounds good, but I've got to see it consistently in practice, in a game," another NFL scout told Bleacher Report. "We see guys change from running back to wide receiver all the time. It's rare when he becomes an elite receiver. In fact, I haven't really seen it. I know what Jalen was as a tailback. A damn good tailback. I have no idea what he is now."

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The alarm rang every morning at 4, rousting him from bed only to reaffirm another day of stark change ahead. Another day to prove everyone wrong.

He'd hop in his car and drive 45 minutes from Chino Hills to Santa Ana and roll up on Robert Paulele's gym, where college and NFL players train.

"First thing he said to me was 'people think I'm crazy for doing this,'" Paulele said. "I told him, either way you swing it, you're creating stock for yourself. You're saying, 'I know what my value is, what my potential is, and if you don’t like it, I will find someone who does.' That’s kind of gritty. I like it."

By the time he left California to enroll at Baylor, he had completely reshaped his body. He looked more like Calvin Johnson than Derrick Henry.

Then the Baylor staff timed him and put him through drills, and the results were astounding.

He squatted more than 500 pounds, and his vertical jump was 40 inches (this year's NFL combine-best was 41.5). His 40 time was consistently in the 4.4 range, and his 20-yard shuttle—the one combine test scouts say is a critical predictor for skill players' change of direction and explosion—was 3.8 and 3.9 (the recent best is 3.81 in 2006).

"Wait, don't put that in the story because we'll look stupid," Cooper says.

But he ran 3.8?

"He absolutely did," Cooper says. "You'll write this story, and in your mind, I'm sure you're thinking, Man, they're making all of that up. And then after he has a big season, after he's in the Heisman Trophy race, after he goes to the combine and he's the hit of the show there, you're going to say, 'I should've listened to those guys at Baylor.' I'm telling you, we got away with highway robbery. Literally, this might be the most talented player I have ever seen."     

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When it all went down in Tennessee two years ago, Hurd called his best friend, Hunter Rivait, to talk about all that had transpired. Rivait was there when Hurd ran for 394 yards and seven touchdowns to lead Beech High to the Class 5A state championship. He was there with Hurd in the suites at Neyland Stadium during a recruiting trip, when then-coach Butch Jones filled them full of exquisite food and the hopes and dreams of rewriting the fortunes of Tennessee football.

Everything would change when Hurd, one of the nation's top five recruits, committed. Other elite recruits would follow, and Tennessee football would ascend back to the top of the SEC.

Three years later, the only person more hated at Tennessee was a guy named Lane Kiffin.

"I told him a lot of feelings for many people were misconstrued because they didn't know the facts of the situation," Rivait said. "That stuff is noise, but belief and truth outweighs all."

It's unseasonably hot in Waco on this day. A storm is rolling through, and the spring game might just be cancelled. Not that Hurd was playing anyway.

"We know what he can do," Rhule said. "No need for him to run around out there."

He smiles like he knows something no one else does.

"Maybe it's best if no one sees him until the season opener," he says.

The multimillion-dollar gamble might just be worth the wait.

                   

B/R's Master Tesfatsion contributed to this article.