Super Bowl Quarterbacks With Texas Roots To Make History

Mahomes and Hurts both started their careers in Texas.

History will be made at next week’s Super Bowl when two Black quarterbacks will compete for the sports’ highest prize for the first time in history.

Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles will face off in Super Bowl LVII on February 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

Aside from making football history, Mahomes and Hurts have something else in common - both began their football careers in the state of Texas.

Mahomes grew up in Whitehouse, Texas - a small east Texas town of about 7,000 residents.  He attended college at Texas Tech before he was drafted to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017.

Hurts was born and raised near Houston and played high school football at Channelview High School, where his father was the head football coach.  Hurts played three years at the University of Alabama and a year at the University of Oklahoma before entering the draft in 2020.

Both Mahomes and Hurts have stayed close to their Texas roots.

When Mahomes led the Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory in 2021, he did so in front of several of his high school friends and his football coach from Whitehouse, who traveled to Miami to watch the game.

During a post-game press conference, Mahomes acknowledged his hometown crew's support.

“I’ve been around a lot of great people who have supported me all the way through,” he said.

Mahomes married his high school sweetheart Brittany Matthews Mahomes.  The couple’s prom photos from 2013 can still be found on Mahomes’ Instagram page.

The couple has two children.

Hurts’ high school football career in Channelview, Texas, was a family affair.  Hurts played under the leadership of his father Averion Hurts, Sr. and was also coached by his brother Averion Hurts, Jr.  All three men graduated from Channelview High School.

Hurts has returned to his high school alma mater since graduating to mentor students there.

When Hurts returned to Houston with the Eagles to play the Texans, Harris County Precinct Three proclaimed November 3, 2022 as Jalen Alexander Hurts Day.  His mother accepted the award on his behalf.

“It was really an honor for me,” Pamela Hurts said, “especially knowing how much the community has supported him, knowing that he is a member of this community, grew up here, and graduated from here.”

In a more controversial nod to his Texas roots, Hurts repped Houston Astros gear during last year’s World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies.  His fans in Texas and Pennsylvania had mixed reactions.

Despite beginning their careers in Texas, Mahomes and Hurts have never played against each other.  So no matter who wins the big game, safe to say that Super Bowl Sunday is going to be a big day for the state of Texas.

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