After Jake Fromm’s departure, the battle for the starting quarterback spot is the most intriguing position battle taking place this spring.
Spring is always exciting for Georgia football, as fans get to watch guys battle for the starting spots and earn more playing time for the upcoming season.
With all the recruits Kirby Smart and his staff bring in, no one’s spot is safe on the depth chart and one of the most intriguing position battles, this spring could be at quarterback.
Fans watched Jake Fromm and Jacob Eason battle it out at the 2017 G-Day Games, and then Fromm and Justin Fields the following year. This year will be completely different from recent years.
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This year, there isn’t a single guy on the field who has ever started a single game for the Bulldogs. Jamie Newman, of course, got a lot of playing time at Wake Forest and Stetson Bennett saw some action this past season, but neither have any experience as a starter at Georgia. Newcomer Carson Beck you doesn’t have any college experience whatsoever.
With a lot of new blood at quarterback, it should make for a very interesting G-Day, especially with the expected change-up in the offensive game plan this season.
There was a lot of excitement that went down this offseason with players making their NFL decisions, closing out the 2020 recruiting class with the No. 1 class, and new coaching additions. Jamie Newman announcing his transfer to Georgia football was probably the news that fans were most excited about.
After Fromm declared for the draft, it left fans wondering who the next quarterback would be and Newman appeared to answer that question.
Newman brings a lot of experience with him and a lot of athleticism. The former three-star recruit has the ability to not only make plays with his arm, but extend plays with his feet as well. In his most recent season at Wake Forest, Newman threw for 2,868 yards with 26 touchdowns and 574 rushing yards.
To give some comparison, Fromm threw for 2,860 yards and 24 touchdowns in his final season at Georgia. A very similar stat line between the two players.
There are however some potential red flags with Newman. Against top-ranked defenses there were some obvious struggles. Whether that had mostly to do with the lack of talent Newman was surrounded with or his own talent remains unknown. If I were to make a prediction as to who will be the starter for the upcoming season I would say it’s a safe bet that Newman will take the spot with all that he brings offensively to Athens.
There is not a whole lot to look at stat-wise with Bennett and Beck, but nevertheless, they could still spice things up in the QB room.
Bennett sat behind Fromm and knows the guys on the team better than both Newman and Beck. Bennett also played in four games last season where he threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Obviously, his stat line doesn’t give much reason to think he could be the next starter but Bennett does have the upper hand in the familiarity category.
Carson Beck, who was a part of the 2020 draft class, has potential starter written all over him. In just two seasons in high school, Beck threw for 5,389 yards, 59 touchdowns, and a 54-percent completion rate on 634 attempts.
Beck is young and does not have any college experience, but he has also mentioned before that he likes to compete. Ever since Fields transferred, Georgia football has been missing a player who competes and puts the pressure on a guy like Newman to bring his A-game every single practice. Much like what Fromm did to Eason and Fields did to Fromm.
Beck becoming the starter for the 2020 season may be a long shot but he could make things very interesting at the 2020 G-Day game.
There is nothing better than watching guys duke it out for playing time and practice and doing their best to earn the right of that starting spot on the roster. Spring practice and scrimmages are primetime for players to do that. The depth that Georgia has at quarterback this year could make for a very exciting G-Day game.