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With JT Daniels eligible, Kirby Smart faces another difficult quarterback decision
Now it’s safe to say that Justin Fields was the better quarterback option than Jake Fromm. The 2019 season definitely proved it, with Fields throwing 41 touchdowns, while Fromm had five consecutive games with a completion percentage of less than 50 percent. Fields was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy last season and a favorite for the 2020 award.
Fromm fell to the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft and will fight only to be a backup for the Buffalo Bills.
Fromm and Fields spent time as the Georgia quarterback in 2018, although When it came to the most important moments, Fromm was the type. Fields always had a higher lead, but Fromm was the most prepared option, and had just led Georgia to a national title game appearance the season before Fields’ appearance.
In a different universe where Fields gets the initial job in Georgia, he is now entering the 2020 season as an undisputed starter. Instead, Georgia will once again have two clearly talented quarterbacks hoping to start for one of the best teams in the country.
Georgia always knew she was going to have Jamie Newman available for the 2020 season as it was a graduate transfer that came in January. For months, she had been called the guy who was going to fix Georgia’s offense, compete for the Heisman Trophy, and be a first-round pick.
He could still be those things. But to do it, you will have to beat an equal but different talent in JT Daniels. When Georgia landed Daniels in May, many wondered if the decision was to better establish Georgia’s quarterback room in 2021, as Daniels was not immediately eligible for the 2020 season and the Bulldogs were already Newman.
Related: What Georgia football is getting at JT Daniels
Those questions disappeared on Monday when Daniels tweeted the news that he had been granted immediate eligibility for the 2021 season.
“Thank you to the NCAA for granting me immediate eligibility and allowing me to play soccer this fall,” wrote Daniels. “I won’t comment on the exemption or transfer, but I’m looking forward to a great 2020 season with my teammates.”
Thank you to the NCAA for granting me immediate eligibility and allowing me to play soccer this fall. I won’t comment on the exemption or transfer, but I look forward to a great 2020 season with my teammates.
– JT Daniels (@ jtdaniels06) July 13, 2020
Depth numbers will be as critical as ever this season, assuming there is still one season due to all the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. With Daniels and Newman, Georgia is certainly established from a deep point of view as it now has two pins who have started double-digit games at the Power Five level.
But Georgia will not be able to play both quarterbacks at the same time. Recent national champions like Clemson in 2018 and Alabama in 2015 started multiple quarterbacks over the course of the season. But in the most important moments, those two teams knew who their best quarterback was.
Kirby Smart and Todd Monken are going to have to find out who it will be. It wouldn’t be so surprising to see them both make significant reps on the season for Georgia.
What makes it interesting is that, similar to Fromm-Fields’ decision, the two quarterbacks have different abilities. Newman is the top athlete and his deep pass ability should fit Monken’s scheme very well. Newman is also much more capable as a running back, having racked up 574 rushing yards a season ago.
While there’s a lot of excitement surrounding Daniels, it’s worth remembering why so many people for so long got excited about Newman in the first place.
By contrast, Daniels has the best recruiting pedigree as he was a 5-star quarterback in the 2018 recruiting class. The only two quarterbacks that ranked above him in the 2018 recruiting cycle were Trevor. Lawrence and Fields.
The now eligible Daniels also started at USC when he was supposed to be in his senior year of high school. That year had its ups and downs, but the future was still bright for Daniels at USC. And it was not the only reason, nor the greatest, for the Trojans’ record of 5-7 in 2018, where he threw 14 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
Then, in the opening half of the 2019 season, Daniels broke his ACL. His second season ended just a quarter after it started. Daniels has resumed soccer activities as he posted a photo of him working with former USC quarterback Sam Darnold.
The abilities seem to mirror that of Fields and Fromm. But Newman and Daniels’ situations actually change compared to who their similar games are as well. If Smart made the decision about who could help them win right away, as he did from Fromm, Newman seems to be the option. While Newman has participated in the same number of practices as Daniels, Newman has been on the show longer and doesn’t have the same injury concerns that exist with Daniels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkvRfL5PUDI
It also wouldn’t look great if Smart brought Newman in just to put him through another talented quarterback.
Newman has only one season of eligibility, while Daniels possibly has three. If Smart wanted to play the quarterback who best prepares Georgia’s future, he would go with Daniels. He could sacrifice part of the 2020 season to adapt to growing pains with Daniels, but that could also better shape Georgia in the coming seasons.
Of course, Smart has to balance the present and the future of Georgia’s program. He, along with Monken, has to make this decision right after how Fromm and Fields ended up playing. But he has no previous accomplishments over any of the quarterbacks like he did with Fromm, as Daniels and Newman have taken a combination of zero snapshots in a Georgia uniform.
Life is constantly teaching you lessons. Many times, the best people recognize why they made mistakes and correct them in the future. Very rarely does life put you in exactly the same situation after previously making a mistake, giving you a clear opportunity to see if you have learned from your past.
Smart has that opportunity with Newman and Daniels and the Georgia quarterback competition. He has a chance to rewrite the narrative about himself and the Georgia show after how things played out with Fields and Fromm in the 2018 quarterback competition.
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Dawgs on Twitter
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– Manny Diaz (@CoachMannyDiaz) July 13, 2020
GO DAWGS !!
– Coach Kirby Smart (@KirbySmartUGA) July 13, 2020
Thank you, God, for building me so that it will never bend. Now I’m a DAWG forever 🐶 #COMMITTEDTOTHEG pic.twitter.com/a9OJE3kBMe
– Adonai Mitchell5️⃣ (@MoCityMitch) July 13, 2020
Georgia now loses a 2,500 yard passerby since 2019 … and brings two 2,500 yard passersby by 2020. https://t.co/Zq7wbFfq3R
– Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) July 13, 2020
Good day of the day
I would like to speak to your manager. pic.twitter.com/W8BwhGrucF
– Jen (@thejenlife) July 13, 2020
