Georgia football: Top three story lines after National Signing Day
National Signing Day as past and spring football is right around the corner. For Georgia football, there are many topics that fans will follow closely in the coming months.
National Signing Day has come and gone. As I’m sure you all know, our Georgia football team signed the best class in the nation. Everyone from the class of 2018 has either enrolled or signed a letter of intent. That means that the 2018 Georgia football roster is nearly set.
But there are still many other questions that lack answers. And fans will follow all news sites in search of those answers in the next few months. Here’s a short list of the biggest stories that fans just can’t want to see play out.
Jake Fromm vs. Justin Fields
In most instances, a returning quarterback coming off a good season would be considered a lock to start. But not this spring in Athens. After Jake Fromm stole the starting quarterback job from Jacob Eason in 2017, fans know that Justin Fields is just as likely to take the job from Fromm.
This spring’s quarterback duel will be as interesting as last years because of the talent and differences. Eason was the tall, big arm, west coast quarterback. The guy who with the right receivers and a good offensive line could stand in the pocket and pick any defense apart. Fromm was the smaller but more elusive quarterback who didn’t have the strong arm but used his elusiveness to get out of the pocket to find receivers in ways Eason can’t.
Now Eason is gone and Fields is in Athens. And the differences between he and Fromm are just as noticeable. Fromm is a scrambler, Fields is a mobile quarterback. Fromm can occasionally pick up yards on his legs, but he needs the right situation. Otherwise, he runs to find receivers. Fields however, has the skills to pick up rushing yards at any time.
That’s why this competition is so intriguing. Which quarterback wins out? Fromm with his established relationships with the receivers and skills to find passing lanes outside the pocket. Or Fields and his ability to make big plays in a variety of ways.
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The status of DeAngelo Gibbs
With Dominick Sanders, Aaron Davis and Malkom Parrish graduating, Georgia needed to replace three players in the defensive backfield. Fortunately, one of the top recruits from the no. 3 ranked 2017 class was DeAngelo Gibbs a defensive back.
But now, his status with the team is unknown and that is troublesome knowledge for Georgia fans. Gibbs is still listed as a member of the team, but he is not taking classes this semester which means he’s ineligible for spring football.
Losing him would be a huge blow to the defense because he’s a projected starter given his talent. Without him, coaches would have to find four new starters in the backfield. A tough task indeed.
Who joins Natrez Patrick and DeAndre Walker as starting linebackers?
In 2017, Georgia might have had the best group of linebackers in the SEC. Roquan Smith is now a Georgia football legen. Natrez Patrick and Reggie Carter were solid middle linebackers. Then there’s the bookends Lorenzo Carter and Davin Bellamy who excelled their senior years. After them was a group of quality backups led by DeAndre Walker.
For 2018, Patrick should retain his starting spot as an inside linebacker and Walker will likely inherit a starting spot on the outside. Who joins them as starting linebackers is the question. Luckily for us, Georgia is wealthy with talented linebackers.
There’s other second stringers, Monty Rice, Walter Grant and Juwan Taylor. The best of that bunch is probably Grant who showed a lot of potential in 2017. Rice wasn’t as highly touted of a recruit as Grant was, but he still provided some quality minutes last season. Taylor was even less touted when he signed back in 2015 as a 3-star. But like Rice, he was a quality player in 2017.
After them are returning players Jaleel Laguins and Nate McBride. Laguins is a rising junior who was the no. 10 ILB of the 2016 recruiting class. McBride is a rising sophomore and no. 6 ILB of the 2017 class.
Or a freshman can take over. Georgia signed the no. 1, no. 2 and no. 5 outside linebackers in Adam Anderson, Quay Walker and Otis Reese. And they signed Channing Tindall, the no. 5 inside linebacker.
Next: Who will lead the Bulldogs this spring
Will it even matter who the starters are? How are coaches going to keep some of these guys off the field? Georgia will likely have the deepest group of linebackers for years to come. But for 2018, we just want to know who the starters are.