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Jaguars players, coaches say receiver Allen Hurns defined by his toughness
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It seems like whenever anyone talks about Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Allen Hurns, the first thing they mention is his toughness.
They talk about his ability to take hit after hit after hit and pop right back up. They talk about his ability to play through a sprained foot and what turns out is a sports hernia, an injury that most likely will require surgery after the season.
"When you define who he is, toughness would have to be a big part of it," coach Gus Bradley said.
The Jaguars play host to Tennessee on Thursday night, which would be the team’s second game in five days. Hurns was questionable for Sunday’s game at Baltimore, but played and caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown, extending his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown catch to seven.
Though Hurns saw a specialist in Philadelphia on Monday, the second-year player is expected to play against the Titans. In fact, his teammates can’t imagine him not playing. When receiver Allen Robinson was asked what it would take to keep Hurns off the field, he had no answer. It wasn’t until someone suggested losing a leg that Robinson conceded that might be enough to keep Hurns off the field.
Here are five things to know about Hurns, the player who apparently defines toughness among his teammates:
1. He’s getting close to adding his name to the NFL record book: Hurns’ streak of seven consecutive games with a receiving touchdown is the longest since Cincinnati’s A.J. Green caught a TD in nine games in a row in 2011. The NFL record for most consecutive games with a TD pass is 13 by Jerry Rice (1986-87 seasons). Elroy Hirsch (1950-51 seasons) and Buddy Dial (1959-60 seasons) are tied for the second-longest streak (11 games). The third-longest streak is 10 consecutive games by Carl Pickens (1994-95 seasons).
2. Hurns is the receiving corps’ leader: Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee were second-round draft picks. Bryan Walters played in the past two Super Bowls and won a ring with the Seattle Seahawks. However, it’s Hurns who the players gravitate toward and is the group’s leader. Before Sunday’s game at Baltimore, receivers coach Jerry Sullivan told me that Hurns is the glue that holds the group together on the field and in the meeting room. Hurns is a quiet kid and doesn’t say a whole lot, but his teammates gravitate toward him and respect him like a 10-year veteran.
3. He’s an ironman: Beginning with his sophomore season at the University of Miami and continuing through last Sunday’s game, Hurns has played in 61 of a possible 62 games. He missed the third game of his junior season because of a concussion, but has played in 47 consecutive games since that injury (22 with UM and 25 with the Jaguars).
4. He’s also a kid at heart: Though Jason Myers was lining up for what turned out to be a game-winning 53-yard field goal against the Ravens, there was a player excitedly jumping up and down on the Jaguars’ sideline like a small child on Christmas morning. It was Hurns. After the game he sheepishly admitted that maybe that wasn’t the best idea considering he’s playing with a sports hernia and a sprained foot. "Hey, man, I’m in the moment," he said. "You’ve got to enjoy the moment."
5. He didn’t look like much of an athlete as a kid: According to a story in the Palm Beach Post, Hurns was a chubby kid with asthma. Hurns’ mother, Erica Wilson, told the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel that he didn’t want to play Pop Warner football when he was a small child. "He cried for a week because he didn’t want to be out there," she said. "Then he fell in love." Hurns grew up in Carol City, Florida, near Sun Life Stadium. He became a three-star recruit who was offered scholarships by West Virginia, Ole Miss, Central Florida, and Pittsburgh. Hurns’ childhood nickname, by the way, was Bubba.
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