On the Road With Jalen Hurts, Who Requires a Microwave in His Hotel Room
GQ SportsThe Philadelphia Eagles quarterback loves heating up leftovers, vacationing in the Caribbean, and hitting his favorite wing joint every time he’s back home in Houston.By Matthew RobersonDecember 4, 2024Photographs: Getty Images; Collage: Gabe ConteSave this storySaveSave this storySaveFew people on earth travel as often as professional athletes. With On the Road, the GQ Sports Travel Questionnaire, they’re weighing in on everything from room service to flying comfortably to their favorite chain restaurants.Things are going very well for Jalen Hurts right now. The dynamic quarterback has the Philadelphia Eagles sitting pretty at the top of the NFC East with a 10-2 record, which includes eight straight wins. Most recently, they took care of the Ravens in Baltimore, but this year has also seen the team pull out resounding road wins in Los Angeles, Dallas, and even a neutral site game in Brazil to start the season.While football is his number one (and two, and three) priority from September through February, the 26-year-old Hurts makes time to give back to his community. His most recent venture is a caramel-colored duffel bag, produced with Discommon and the Jalen Hurts Foundation, that Hurts calls the “Carry the Difference” model. The duffel will look great in the pregame tunnel, but it’s meant to work for anyone who just needs to carry the supplies that get them through the day, like the local schoolteachers who will receive a portion of the bag’s sales. “You never realize how much educators are going out of pocket to make sure they have the supplies they need to serve their students,” said Hurts, who told GQ that his family is filled with educators (and who has of course appeared on an episode of the Philly-set Abbott Elementary). “There’s so many different things that are needed to make a classroom function at a high level. This initiative helps do this for the city of Philadelphia. Knowing that every single dollar from each bag sold goes toward building sustainable school supply closets in the city, that’s something that’s strong.”Photo courtesy of Kees2Photos / Jalen Hurts Foundation Kees2lifeAs the regular season nears its conclusion and the Eagles prepare for what they hope will be a deep playoff run, their goal is to secure the NFC’s top seed, which would keep them from having to do much traveling. When Hurts is on the road, though, he likes to stay as routine-oriented as possible, whether that means getting on airplane WiFi to watch college football on Saturdays, or acclimating to a hotel that’s out in the boonies.Which cities on the NFL schedule get you extra excited? Where are you the most geeked up to play?It’s always great to go to the places where you win. But for me, it’s always great to go back to Houston. I am at home when I’m in Houston. I’ve only had the opportunity to play there once, but all of my childhood was there. For that game, I had about 30 family and friends. That was a great moment, for sure.How does your preparation and game day routine change for a home game vs. a road game?I try to keep it as consistent as possible, especially with my daily prayers and devotionals—my spiritual time, I guess you would call it. Maybe I’ll listen to church, or listen to some good music. I’ll check in with my family on FaceTime. I try to keep everything with me that I need, so the routine is as good as possible.What’s your move on the plane?What I like to do on the plane is take notes of whatever I’ve been doing all week. I like to saturate in my preparation for the week. I’ve found that the plane gives me a lot of time to take a deep dive into scripture, and then go back on my week of notes and the game plan for the opponent. Those things are very important to me, and I feel like you have to intentionally pursue them to continue to build wisdom. Once I’m done, maybe I’ll catch an Alabama or Oklahoma game, because we travel on Saturdays.I would love to experience the team flight after a big road win. Can you put into words what that vibe is like?Yeah, the plane environment—[chuckles]—is eclectic. Everyone is processing what happened in their own way, that’s what makes it special. That’s always fun. You may have a gang of teammates watching the film together, you may have a gang of teammates talking about the game, you may have a gang of teammates joking and enjoying themselves. It’s a great environment, for sure.Do you immediately pull up the film, or do you let it breathe?No, I watch the film. Again, I think about the routine. There’s always an eagerness to see what I could have done better. I even have the same routine for home games. I go down to my office, watch the game, and be very critical of myself. Nothing changes on the plane. I think watching film on the plane, as a quarterback, you get the opportunity to immediately talk to your teammates about what you saw and get everyone’s opinions. I get the opportunity to talk to my coaches, as well, about areas of improvement. It’s a fun
Few people on earth travel as often as professional athletes. With On the Road, the GQ Sports Travel Questionnaire, they’re weighing in on everything from room service to flying comfortably to their favorite chain restaurants.
Things are going very well for Jalen Hurts right now. The dynamic quarterback has the Philadelphia Eagles sitting pretty at the top of the NFC East with a 10-2 record, which includes eight straight wins. Most recently, they took care of the Ravens in Baltimore, but this year has also seen the team pull out resounding road wins in Los Angeles, Dallas, and even a neutral site game in Brazil to start the season.
While football is his number one (and two, and three) priority from September through February, the 26-year-old Hurts makes time to give back to his community. His most recent venture is a caramel-colored duffel bag, produced with Discommon and the Jalen Hurts Foundation, that Hurts calls the “Carry the Difference” model. The duffel will look great in the pregame tunnel, but it’s meant to work for anyone who just needs to carry the supplies that get them through the day, like the local schoolteachers who will receive a portion of the bag’s sales. “You never realize how much educators are going out of pocket to make sure they have the supplies they need to serve their students,” said Hurts, who told GQ that his family is filled with educators (and who has of course appeared on an episode of the Philly-set Abbott Elementary). “There’s so many different things that are needed to make a classroom function at a high level. This initiative helps do this for the city of Philadelphia. Knowing that every single dollar from each bag sold goes toward building sustainable school supply closets in the city, that’s something that’s strong.”
As the regular season nears its conclusion and the Eagles prepare for what they hope will be a deep playoff run, their goal is to secure the NFC’s top seed, which would keep them from having to do much traveling. When Hurts is on the road, though, he likes to stay as routine-oriented as possible, whether that means getting on airplane WiFi to watch college football on Saturdays, or acclimating to a hotel that’s out in the boonies.
It’s always great to go to the places where you win. But for me, it’s always great to go back to Houston. I am at home when I’m in Houston. I’ve only had the opportunity to play there once, but all of my childhood was there. For that game, I had about 30 family and friends. That was a great moment, for sure.
I try to keep it as consistent as possible, especially with my daily prayers and devotionals—my spiritual time, I guess you would call it. Maybe I’ll listen to church, or listen to some good music. I’ll check in with my family on FaceTime. I try to keep everything with me that I need, so the routine is as good as possible.
What I like to do on the plane is take notes of whatever I’ve been doing all week. I like to saturate in my preparation for the week. I’ve found that the plane gives me a lot of time to take a deep dive into scripture, and then go back on my week of notes and the game plan for the opponent. Those things are very important to me, and I feel like you have to intentionally pursue them to continue to build wisdom. Once I’m done, maybe I’ll catch an Alabama or Oklahoma game, because we travel on Saturdays.
Yeah, the plane environment—[chuckles]—is eclectic. Everyone is processing what happened in their own way, that’s what makes it special. That’s always fun. You may have a gang of teammates watching the film together, you may have a gang of teammates talking about the game, you may have a gang of teammates joking and enjoying themselves. It’s a great environment, for sure.
No, I watch the film. Again, I think about the routine. There’s always an eagerness to see what I could have done better. I even have the same routine for home games. I go down to my office, watch the game, and be very critical of myself. Nothing changes on the plane. I think watching film on the plane, as a quarterback, you get the opportunity to immediately talk to your teammates about what you saw and get everyone’s opinions. I get the opportunity to talk to my coaches, as well, about areas of improvement. It’s a fun process! Honestly, it’s an underrated thing when it comes to quarterbacking: learning from the game and moving on to the next opponent.
I need the toiletry bag, my brush, and a wave cap. That’s for home and away games. Another essential is my iPad. That’s a Jalen Hurts work-mandated thing. I can’t go anywhere without it.
You know, football is different from the other sports because we don’t travel as much. But when we do, it’s more people traveling. So it depends on the city. Sometimes you’re staying in more rural areas, and sometimes you’re staying in well-established downtown areas. I enjoy seeing what each hotel has to offer.
One thing that is mandatory is having a microwave in my room. There’s always an issue when I go to warm up my food. We’ll run into fans that are staying at the hotel, roaming around the hallways, going floor to floor. When you’re at the hotel, you just want to relax and get geared up for the next day. Sometimes that’s challenging when you’re moving around. When I get to a new city, there are times when I’ll go out to eat, but that’s rare. I like being able to chill, soak in the time, and reset for what’s to come: Sunday fun day.
We played in Cincinnati this year. It’s a great place, it kind of reminds me of Oklahoma or parts of Texas. But I had no idea where we were, and didn’t know what to expect. That’s no knock! I just had no idea. When you stay in places like that—which was a great hotel, a big convention center hotel—compared to staying in LA by the Staples Center or Midtown in Dallas, you notice the difference. But every trip brings its own memory, and that’s what’s special about it.
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I like to keep it open when it comes to trying things and visiting different spots. I do my due diligence with it. Any time you can go to the Caribbean islands, I think that never fails. There’s nowhere I’m dying to go, otherwise I would have done it already. But I’d love to explore Italy and branch out that way to the parts of the world I’ve never seen.
Back home in Houston, there are two spots. Pappasito’s is my favorite Tex-Mex, that’s some of the best Mexican food you’ll ever eat. Then, Bonfire Wings is a place I’ve been going since I was a little kid. Every time I go home, I’m sure to stop by and get a spicy Creole ten piece with two boudin balls.
You’ll have to find out!
