The New England Patriots' 2023 regular-season opener pits Mac Jones against a former teammate of his.

Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles will make their way into Foxborough on Sunday. The last time Jones shared the field with Hurts in a game that mattered was in January 2019, when the two quarterbacks were Alabama teammates. But Hurts was on the way out of Alabama after that game, transferring away from the school to go to Oklahoma after the team made Tua Tagovailoa its starting quarterback.

Since then, Hurts turned into a Heisman candidate before becoming an NFL quarterback en route to finishing second in MVP voting last season as he led the Eagles to the Super Bowl this past season.

Jones had a similar end to his college career as Hurts did, becoming a Heisman finalist in 2020 before being drafted by the Patriots. As he hopes to duplicate what Hurts did in Year 3 in the NFL, Jones fondly remembered the moments he shared with Hurts during their two seasons together at Alabama.

“Obviously a great player,” Jones said when he was asked about Hurts during his press conference on Thursday. “I’ve been fortunate to play with him and I learned a lot from him. Definitely a great quarterback, and I just think back on the times we had. I’m just really proud of him and everything he’s done in the NFL.”

Hurts began his time at Alabama with promise, throwing for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns as he rushed for 954 yards and 13 touchdowns as a freshman. When Jones arrived in 2017, Hurts remained as the team's starting quarterback but was benched in the team's National Championship Game win over Georgia that year.

Even when Tagovailoa became the starter over Hurts, there never appeared to be tension between any of the quarterbacks at Alabama. In fact, they all learned from each other and grew close, according to Jones. The Patriots quarterback shared one thing he particularly did with Hurts during their time at Alabama that left a mark on him.

“I guess conditioning is the first thing. Me and him were always running against each other,” Jones said. “He is definitely faster than me, but I feel like I gave him a good run for his money. I learned a lot from him, just stuff like that, leading off the field, and like the fourth quarter program we had.

“He just always did such a good job running, leading, never showed a lot of emotion, just did his thing and I actually learned a lot from him there. Then, obviously on the field there is a bunch of stuff, too. So, I really appreciate him.”

But that was just one of the many things Jones took away from Hurts during their time together.

“I think there is a lot of learning lessons. I definitely took a lot of that, loved to see him bounce back and do a great job,” Jones said. “In college, he went through a lot, transferred and played well everywhere he’s been. It’s just who he is, it’s Jalen Hurts. He’s just a great player, great person and a good friend.”

Jones hasn't found much luck against his other former Alabama quarterback in the NFL so far, losing all three matchups he's had against Tagovailoa's Dolphins team to this point. He's hoping to change that on Sunday with a win against Hurts, which would make the Patriots 1-0 for the first time in Jones' career.

While Jones didn't specify his exact goals for the 2023 season when asked on Thursday, getting a win in Week 1 surely has to be one of them.

“Every year you make goals, individual and team,” Jones said. “I like to keep those to myself. Obviously, you want to strive for really good things. For me, it’s just really about leadership and leading the guys and working through the highs and the lows. It’s not going to be perfect, never has been and never will be.

“So, just try to work through it and come up with solutions to win games and it really starts this week.”