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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Whether fair or not, quarterback Jalen Hurts has been both praised and criticized, at times, throughout his two-year career as Alabama’s starting signal caller.

While the sophomore keeps a calm demeanor on and off the field, his teammates hear what’s said about Hurts. And the negative comments do not sit well with most of the players.

“What Jalen does for us, we really don’t care what everyone says -- media, the fans. They can say whatever they want about Jalen, but we know what he does for our program,” tight end Hale Hentges said. “He’s a fearless leader, he’s our guy and he’s led us to many great wins. We’re behind him 100 percent, we believe in him and he’s done a great job for our offense.

“And he’s going to continue to do a great job.”

Hurts is 24-2 as the Crimson Tide’s starter, with a chance to add another win to that total when No. 4 Alabama faces top-ranked Clemson in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.

He’s made numerous big plays during his two seasons behind center, including a 30-yard run for a touchdown the last time the Tide and Tigers met a season ago. That score gave Alabama a 31-28 lead with 2:07 remaining in the national championship game.

But the Houston, Texas, native has also had his fair share of struggles, especially in the passing game. Hurts completed less than 56 percent of his passes in the last three SEC games of the Crimson Tide’s regular-season schedule. In only one other conference game did Hurts do that, and that was against Vanderbilt, a contest Alabama won 59-0 to open SEC play.

“I ain’t perfect. Far from that,” Hurts said. “I live and I learn.

“Michael Jordan said that the other day. ‘You don’t lose, you learn.’ I don’t lose, I learn. I think we’ve learned from a lot of things this year. Even last year’s loss. How can we show the world we’ve learned? How far have we (come)? I think we’re trying to get better right now. We’re learning from it and trying to continue to improve and show it on New Year’s Day.”

Hurts has thrown for 1,940 yards, 15 touchdowns and one interception this season, while also rushing for 768 yards on eight touchdowns on a team-high 137 carries in 12 games. But his team is once again in the College Football Playoff this postseason.

Had Hurts not played like he did against LSU and Mississippi State, though, we might be talking about a 3-loss Alabama team preparing for a bowl game instead of a third straight meeting with Clemson in the four-team playoff -- only this time in the semifinals.

So, the criticism the quarterback’s received is difficult to hear and/or read.

“It’s hard to see, especially because you’ve gone through so much with your brother,” Hurts said. “That’s my brother. He’s done a great job leading us, and we try to just stay off social media and don’t pay attention to that because everything that matters is what’s in our locker room in between us and the coaches. But we’re focused on getting better every day.

“Things that have happened in the past don’t matter to us. We’re looking forward to the new opportunity and new challenge that we have. We’re behind him 100 percent.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).