It could have gone two ways for Jalen Hurts when he was benched in the national championship game against Georgia.

This is back at the end of the 2017 season. So much has happened between now and then.

For Alabama, the game remains one of the greatest single moments in college football history. For Georgia, the championship-winning heave by Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to receiver DeVonta Smith on 2nd and 26 in overtime is remembered a little differently. For Hurts, what happened during Alabama’s stunning 26-23 victory defined the course of his life.

Tua became the toast of college football, and Hurts was never the starting quarterback at Alabama again. Turns out, it was the best thing that ever happened to him. Look at him now.

I was so happy for Hurts during his first NFL playoff victory on Saturday. After covering his college career, and watching him develop into one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL, I’m not ashamed to admit that I was a little nervous for Hurts leading up to his big moment against the Giants. New York never had a chance. Philadelphia won 38-7, and now the Eagles play San Francisco at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Philly’s Lincoln Financial Field in the NFC championship game.

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Based on Hurts’ form, Philadelphia’s defense and San Francisco’s 19-12 victory against Dallas, it’s hard to pick against the Eagles. Go Birds.

Hurts is one of the most popular athletes in American sports these days. It was the same way in college. Even Auburn fans liked Hurts when he was at Alabama. It’s because of what Hurts represents. It’s his perseverance and character even more than his ability as a leader.

As a quarterback, Hurts focused all of his determination on steady improvements. He was pretty good at Alabama from the beginning, but his success as a freshman isn’t what made him the quarterback he is today. It was what he did after his demotion — how he learned from a tough moment and got to work. His is one of the best stories in sports, and a journey of growth that everyone can appreciate and maybe even use in their own lives.

Tua took Hurts’ job, and then Hurts used that moment to make himself better.

New UAB offensive coordinator Alex Mortensen was there behind the scenes with Hurts at Alabama. Back then, Mortensen was a grad assistant and then an offensive analyst specializing in quarterbacks. That means he was an assistant to the offensive coordinator and in the quarterback room every day. What’s Mortensen’s big takeaway from Hurts’ story?

“I think for Jalen it has almost been several moments,” Mortensen said. “That’s what makes Jalen who he is. He is very driven and goal oriented. He sets small goals and takes them on one by one and when you look up you’re amazed at how far he has come.

“He’s got such a strong will. There have been so many challenges set in front of him and he has answered the bell.”

Is Hurts the best quarterback in the NFL? Is he the best football player? That was a crazy question at the beginning of this season, but it’s a legitimate one going into the Championship Sunday. He’s 15-1 as a starter this season. Hurts’ coach certainly thinks his quarterback is special. Nick Sirianni compared Hurts to Michael Jordan after the victory against New York.

Fun question. The season is 2018 for the EA Sports video game NCAA Football. Alabama’s quarterback room is loaded. There’s Hurts, Tagovailoa and Mac Jones. Who’s your starter?

As AL.com reporter Mark Inabinett pointed out before last weekend’s games, Philadelphia’s victory against New York ended a 40-year drought for former Alabama quarterbacks. Before Hurts, the last former Alabama quarterback to earn an NFL playoff victory as a starter was Richard Todd for the New York Jets way back in 1983. Oklahoma fans will counter that Hurts is actually a former quarterback for the Sooners, and they wouldn’t be wrong.

Everyone doubted Hurts at some point in his career, and I’ll be the first to admit I was among that legion when he was an underclassman at Alabama. I knew he was a great college quarterback. I just didn’t think the position of quarterback was his future in the NFL. As a columnist, I have never been so happy to be wrong about something … and I’m happy to be wrong about a lot of things I’ve written.

Everyone doubted Hurts except one person, of course. Hurts worked on his game his junior season at Alabama and then he was ready when Tua went down in the 2018 SEC championship game. Eleven months after he was replaced by Tua in Mercedes-Benz Arena, Hurts led a comeback in the same building against the same team. Alabama 35, Georgia 28 was Hurts’ redemption, and then he went to Oklahoma and gave the Sooners a great season as a graduate transfer.

We all fail at some point. We all have setbacks in life that cause us to doubt ourselves and our potential. They’re difficult, but necessary. Our wins go on the résumé and Facebook, but they don’t define who we are as people. Here’s the question after seeing all that Hurts has accomplished since his life-defining moment. Who gained the most after the night of Jan.8, 2018, when Alabama came from behind against Georgia?

It was Hurts, the guy who was benched.

Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama: A season of hope and the making of Nick Saban’s ‘ultimate team’”. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.