NORMAN L.J. Collier Jersey , Okla. (AP) — New Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts learned at a basketball game just how much Sooners fans already had embraced him.The week Oklahoma announced that Hurts was transferring from Alabama, he was watching halftime festivities during the Sooners’ game against Vanderbilt. Seemingly out of nowhere, a long line of admirers developed. He smiled, posed for photos and signed autographs, seemingly unfazed by the sudden surge of attention.“I definitely appreciate it,” he said. “I’m in a new place. I’m a new face around here. It’s cool and it’s all love to embrace those guys.”Sooners fans had grown to respect Hurts from afar. The native of suburban Houston won a national title at Alabama and played for another as a starter. Last season, as Tua Tagovailoa’s backup, he led a dramatic rally against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.This has all prepared him for a role that would intimidate most people — following Heisman winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as Oklahoma’s quarterback.Hurts is unfazed by this, too.“I’m not your average Joe,” he said. “Kind of built for these types of situations. There’s never been really anything that’s been in my way that I couldn’t overcome or see through. I’m here. I’m going to do whatever I can to help this team in whatever way to achieve the things we want to achieve as a team.”Hurts showed he’s becoming comfortable at Oklahoma’s Spring Game on Friday night when he led the Red Team to a touchdown drive on his first possession. He threw a touchdown pass to Kennedy Brooks later in the first half and ran for a score in the second half as his squad beat the White Team 35-14.Redshirt freshman Tanner Mordecai is trying to compete with Hurts, and incoming true freshman Spencer Rattler will jump into the mix in the fall.Hurts is 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds — bigger and stronger than Mayfield and Murray. He relies on moxie to escape trouble, much like Mayfield did, and he’s an effective runner like Murray. He’s an accurate passer, but he hasn’t been forced to use his arm as often as he likely will need to in the Sooners’ system.“The last two guys we’ve had had pretty unique skill sets, too,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. “I like his skill set a lot. I wouldn’t have brought him in if I didn’t feel like it would work. I feel like at any point with a new quarterback, you’re going to get different feels with what they like and what they can do well.”Hurts, who was on the field briefly against the Sooners in last season’s playoff win by Alabama, just wants to be the best possible version of himself.“I don’t want to get into comparisons,” he said. “Baker’s Baker, Kyler’s Kyler and I’m me. I think the objective of all of this is, yeah, everybody wants to achieve their goals http://www.seahawksfootballauthentics.com/marquise-blair-jersey-authentic , everybody wants to do those things. But right now it’s not about me. I’m stepping back from it. The biggest thing about this thing is achieving what we want as a team, getting what we want accomplished as a team.”Hurts will have plenty of firepower with him. CeeDee Lamb leads the receiving corps after grabbing 65 passes for 1,158 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Lee Morris is back after hauling in eight scoring passes last season, and Grant Calcaterra returns after tallying six touchdown grabs.The running game should be strong, too. Brooks ran for 1,056 yards and 12 scores as a freshman last season, and Trey Sermon ran for 947 yards and 13 touchdowns.Hurts understands he’s new to Riley’s system, so he wants to progress quickly, yet remain patient. Riley said there are ways to adjust the system to fit a player’s skills, too.“What I think we were decent at with Kyler and Baker is you have to marry your schemes to them and find some common ground to where you’re still running your system, but you’re also tailoring it to what they do well,” Riley said. “We’ll certainly do that for Jalen and our other quarterbacks that will be here as well. I think he has an intriguing skill set that I’m excited to work with.”Hurts knows his past accomplishments alone won’t win the respect of his new teammates.What he does in their presence matters more.“A team, if you have the right leader, if you have the right guy doing what he’s supposed to do, taking care of his business, people let you lead,” he said. “It’s not mandatory of them to do that. But they’ll follow you.” KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tom Brady and the New England Patriots did what they’ve done for the better part of two decades.Make plays when the game is on the line.The most accomplished quarterback in NFL history led the Patriots downfield in overtime, surgically converting a trio of third-and-10s, and gave Rex Burkhead a chance to score the touchdown that gave New England a 37-31 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game Sunday night.It was the 12th time in Brady’s postseason career that he engineered a game-winning drive, and this one came in the face of all those critics who claimed the 41-year-old quarterback was nearing the end.That the Patriots’ dynasty was about to be usurped by the up-and-coming Chiefs.“He’s been there so many times before it’s like second nature to him,” said Burkhead, who also scored a touchdown in a back-and-forth fourth quarter. “He’s had the pressure D.K. Metcalf Jersey , he’s been in those moments before and all your trust and confidence is in him to get the job done, which he did.”The Patriots led 14-0 at halftime, but watched as Patrick Mahomes and the NFL’s highest-scoring offense roared back to take a 21-17 lead with 7:45 left in the fourth quarter.Brady and his veteran playmakers got down to business.He first led a 10-play, 75-yard drive that Sony Michel capped with a 10-yard run on fourth down to retake the lead. Then, after the Chiefs jumped back ahead on Damien Williams‘ TD run, Brady led the Pats downfield with a crucial third down completion to Rob Gronkowski to set up Burkhead’s score.The Chiefs managed to get the field goal they needed to force overtime, but the Patriots won the coin toss and defensive lineman Trey Flowers knew that the game was all but over.“I mean, I was ready to go out there if we had to,” Flowers said with a grin, “but you know, (Brady) put it away for us. It’s just a blessing.”Now the Patriots (13-5) are off to Atlanta to face the Los Angeles Rams, who survived their own overtime thriller in New Orleans thanks in part to a blown call by the officials.“I can’t say enough about the effort that our players gave today, and the coaching staff, just an awesome job by all of them,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “They deserve it, and they earned it.”As for the Chiefs? Well, another postseason begins in heartache.Mahomes capped a masterful first year as the starter with a dazzling second half, throwing three touchdown passes and leading his team back time after time. But he rued a slow start that put the Chiefs in a 14-0 halftime hole, and an overtime in which he never got a chance with the ball.“I thought if we got the chance we’d score,” he said.Chiefs coach Andy Reid likewise lamented an opportunity to scribble over a series of postseason letdowns on his own resume. His defense, which had struggled all season, crumbled down the stretch, and a team that won its third straight AFC West title was left trying to get over the hump.“This gave us a little of what we have looking forward to us in the future http://www.seahawksfootballauthentics.com/cody-barton-jersey-authentic , and that’s where we’ll go when we’re done aching here,” Reid said,” and it’s a bright future. We have great players. And we’ll get over the hump here, the big hump, that’s this game here.”As the Pats prepare for Atlanta and the Chiefs prepare for the draft, here are some key takeaways from a wild AFC championship game, the first ever played at Arrowhead Stadium:WEAK WALL: The Chiefs’ defense allowed the Patriots to pile up 524 yards in 94 plays, going 13 of 19 on third down and 4 of 5 in the red zone. New England also possessed the ball for 43 minutes, 59 seconds, all while keeping Brady from getting sacked once.RUNNING WILD: The Patriots dominated one of the NFL’s worst rush defenses, piling up 176 yards on the ground. Sony Michel led the way with 113 yards and two touchdowns, while Burkhead added 41 yards and two more scores.” We went out there and just executed our game plan. Guys did their jobs and it helped us drive the ball down the field,” Michel said. “That’s what we needed.”COIN TOSSES: Reid’s decision to defer after winning the opening coin toss proved unwise as the Patriots marched downfield and chewed up most of the opening period. Then, the Chiefs lost an even more important toss before overtime, effectively ending their season.WHAT ROAD: The Patriots were just 3-5 on the road in the regular season, and they hadn’t won a road playoff game since 2006. Meanwhile, the Chiefs had lost just once at Arrowhead Stadium all season, and that came when they blew a late lead to the Los Angeles Chargers.PLAYOFF NUMBERS: The Patriots improved to 11-4 in AFC championship games, while the Chiefs are still seeking their first trip to the Super Bowl since January 1970. “You have to take in the hurt. You have to accept the hurt. It’s supposed to hurt,” Mahomes said. “You’re doing everything you can to get to the Super Bowl and you fall short, it’s going to hurt.”