Jalen Hurd is a five-star running back from Tennessee, and one of roughly 102 commits in Tennessee's 2014 class. His offer list was extensive.
One program that didn't offer him was Steve Sarkisian's USC. We might have got an answer as to why in a since-deleted Instragram video from USC's signing day war-room. Thankfully, this is the internet, where nothing is ever truly deleted:
The video's original purpose was to announce the official signing of Florida DB Lamont Simmons.
In the background, however, USC staffers were apparently listening to ESPN's Signing Day coverage. UT's Jalen Hurd was brought up, when an anonymous staffer interjects "Jalen Hurd is so soft and terrible. I don't know why [unintelligible]."
Tennessee fans suspect the voice was that of former Volunteers quarterback (and current USC wide receivers coach) Tee Martin.
It's a rare moment of candid talent evaluation that you'd never hear at a press conference, and it will be interesting to see who gets the last laugh: this anonymous USC staffer or Jalen Hurd.
UPDATE: USC is sorry:
USC Athletics apologizes for an inappropriate comment overheard on a video created on National Signing Day. The video has been deleted.
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) February 17, 2014
