Brian Johnson has been ‘extremely pleased’ with how Jalen Hurts has handled OTAs

Plus, the Eagles’ QB coach talks Joe Flacco’s experience.

Eagles’ new quarterback coach Brian Johnson spoke to the media for the first time in his new role, and talked about his relationship with Jalen Hurts and what he’s seen so far from the young QB. He also noted how Joe Flacco has been helping the room, and why he made the jump from college coaching to the NFL.

Here’s what the QB coach had to say:

On Jalen Hurts’ accuracy

“I think the biggest thing in terms of accuracy is, obviously, developing your feet and your eyes, and making sure everything’s in concert with your target. And, having a great understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish as an offense. I’ve been extremely pleased with how he’s handled the installs, both he and Joe [Flacco], in terms of learning the offense and coming in fully prepared and putting us in a position to hit the ground running once we get to training camp.”

On his relationship with Jalen Hurts

Johnson talked about he’s known Hurts since he was a kid, and having followed his career from afar, but this was the first time he’s gotten a chance to work with him on the field. The coach noted that everyone knows about the QB’s intangibles and the type of player and person he is, but he’s also extremely coachable and wants to be a great player.

He later talked about how he played for Jalen’s father in high school, so he’s been around their family since he was 15 years old. Johnson said that he has a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Hurts as a coach and as a father. He would come back and recruit when he got into the coaching ranks, and tried hard to get Jalen to go to Mississippi State, but ultimately he went to Alabama and went on to have a good college career.

Other notables

• Johnson talked about how they didn’t go against a live defense in OTAs, but they did get some route throwing in and he was really able to see players’ capacity for learning. Guys have done a good job learning the new system and coming in and asking the right questions, studying, and being prepared.
• When asked about his choice to make the jump from college to NFL coaching, Johnson said that the NFL is the top tier of the game and he’s excited about the opportunity to work for the Eagles’ organization.
• Johnson noted that Joe Flacco has been great, and the QB has a lot of intellectual property from his long NFL career that he’s been willing to share with the young coach and quarterback room.