Biography
2025: The centerpiece of arguably Presbyterian's greatest-ever season, Hurst was selected as the PFL Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in completions (197), passing yards (2,684), passing touchdowns (26), completion percentage (68%), QB efficiency rating (168.3), and passing yards per game (223)...Starting all but one game in a year where the Blue Hose climbed as high as #16 in the AFCA Coaches Poll, Hurst's efficiency rating was the sixth-highest of any player at the FCS level...PC won 10 games for the third time in school history, beginning the season 7-0 and boasting an 11-game winning streak that took into account the prior fall...His 26 passing touchdowns ranked ninth in the country as PC reached higher than any other PFL program in the national rankings over the past two decades...Completed at least 60 percent of his passes on 10 different dates, including a 15-of-18 mark (83 percent) in a blowout over Bluefield which is the fourth-highest single-game number in program history...Ranked 20th in NCAA for passing yards per game and 27th in overall yardage through the air...Became the first player in the 34-year history of the Pioneer League to be named the Offensive Freshman of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons...Was a unanimous All-PFL First Teamer and was voted a top-30 finalist for the Walter Payton Award, often considered the "Heisman" of FCS...Has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 13 straight contests dating back to 2024, holding a 16-5 career record when starting...Averaged eight yards per snap for an offense that surpassed 5,000 yards on the year, going for a career-high five touchdowns in a 21-point overtime comeback at Furman (9/6)...Is now responsible for the #1 and #4 best single-game QB ratings in Presbyterian's 20-year Division I history (291.5 against Bluefield and 248.7 against Erskine)...During the team's 7-0 start to the season, where PC went over 365 days in between losses, Hurst completed 122-of-177 throws (69 percent) for over 1,700 yards and 18 touchdowns...He committed just five interceptions over that stretch, tossing 98 consecutive passes without a turnover...Named the PFL Offensive Player of the Week after stacking up 343 passing yards and three scores versus Erskine in the home opener (9/14)...Notched his first receiving TD from 12 yards away in a blowout against Valparaiso (11/1), helping the Blue Hose finish 6-0 at Bailey Memorial Stadium for the first time since 1998 and averaging 45 points per game in those home matchups...Completed at least 70 percent of his attempts in four out of five appearances during the midway portion of the campaign, charting five straight games with multiple touchdown throws...Surpassed 200 yards through the air in each of the last five conference encounters, including 278 yards and three scores in the Valpo win...His completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and QB efficiency rating are all the second-highest in a single season among all previous PC signal-callers...Became the fourth player in Blue Hose history to be voted a conference player of the year and the first to achieve that feat since 2005...Is now one of two all-time PC players to make the cut for Walter Payton Award consideration...After just two seasons of being the starter, Hurst already holds multiple Presby D-I-era records including: career passing yards (5,066), completion percentage (67 percent), efficiency rating (161.7), passing touchdowns (43), and total touchdowns (52)...His 384 career completions and 13 yards per pass are both 2nd in the school record book...Named to the Academic All-PFL First Team roster thanks to a 3.49 GPA in the field of English with a communications concentration.
2024: Became Presbyterian's QB1 early in the campaign and announced himself as one of the best offensive talents in the Pioneer Football League, chosen as an FCS Freshman All-American by Phil Steele publications and named the PFL Offensive Freshman of the Year...Thrusted PC to their best overall record in 10 years thanks to 2,382 passing yards and a total of 22 touchdowns...Completed 187 passes while only committing four interceptions, good enough for a 66 percent completion rate and 154.9 pass efficiency rating which led all quarterbacks in the conference...Named a top-ten finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, an honor presented annually to the "most outstanding freshman player in the Football Championship Subdivision"...Averaged 198 passing yards per game and engineered the Blue Hose to their first perfect record in the month of November since 2002...Completed 43-of-54 attempts in consecutive blowouts wins over Dayton and Marist, recognized as the PFL Offensive Player of the Week by tossing three TD's on 269 yards as he picked apart the Red Foxes...Hurst never turned the ball over at any point in his last five games, ending the season without an interception in 135 straight attempts...Threw at least one touchdown pass in 10 out of 12 appearances, going for a season-best 358 yards in the PFL opener at Davidson (9/29)...After going 26-of-35 for 201 yards versus eventual league champion Drake in Clinton, he'd complete 73 percent of his passes during a season-closing four-game winning streak...He accounted for seven total touchdowns in the last two games of the semester (five passing, two rushing), including a 30-27 triumph over #23 Butler at Bailey Memorial Stadium which was the program's first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since 2014...As a rookie, he posted 13 more passing touchdowns than INT's...He forms one half of the longest passing play in school history, a 94-yard bomb to Dominic Kibby during a 28-point spanking of Stetson (10/26)...His 66% completion rate was the best in the PFL and ranked 15th in America, while his pass efficiency marker ranked 17th...Surpassed 250 yards through the air against three opponents, finishing his freshman year with the second-most passing yards of any PC quarterback since the turn to Division I nearly 20 years ago...Added 72 carries for an additional 175 yards, allowing him to tally above 2,500 offensive yards combined...Only Sacramento State's Carson Conklin recorded more passing TD's when looking at freshman quarterbacks from around the country, as Hurst averaged 13 yards per completion and at least one 40-yard pass in eight separate meetings...Named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team.
2023: Did not see any game action on the season.
Prior to PC: Was an All-County caliber player for all four years at Western High School, leveling up to All-State status as a senior…Named the 2021 Broward County Offensive Player of the Year, choosing PC because of the "different environment from home and rising athletic programs"…His biggest influence has been his father, who "taught me how to play the sport, which enabled me to fall in love with the game"…Intends to major in Journalism/Communication.
