Jamie Newman Heisman Trophy talk is way too premature

Some are already putting Georgia transfer quarterback Jamie Newman in the Heisman conversation, but that needs to be put on hold.

The comparisons you knew were coming are here, because that’s all we have right now when it comes to Jamie Newman — who transferred from Wake Forest to Georgia this season — is comparisons.

247 college sports analyst Josh Pate has already stated that Jamie Newman could be this year’s Joe Burrow.

"“This year’s Joe Burrow. Is there a Joe Burrow out there this year? Get ready, because this question is going to be asked from now until eternity. Who is this year’s 2019 LSU, who is this year’s Joe Burrow? My answer nine times out of 10 is going to be no one. I will say this though, if there’s a program out there that’s built to roughly duplicate the blueprint that LSU just pulled off. And if there is a quarterback that’s in a position, possibly, theoretically, to duplicate what Joe Burrow just did, not in terms of overall stats but just, in theory, that’s got to be Jamie Newman at Georgia. That’s gotta be it.”"

If that’s not bad enough, now there’s already talk of Newman being a strong contender for the latest edition of the Heisman Trophy.

In January, FanDuel had Newman listed at the fifth-ranked quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy at 16-1 odds, trailing Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler, and Miami’s D’Eriq King.

Currently, Vegas has Newman with the third-highest odds of winning this year’s Heisman Trophy, again behind Lawrence and Fields.

Not bad for a guy who hasn’t even thrown a pass in a Georgia uniform yet.

The truth is this …

We really don’t know who Jamie Newman is in terms of this team, or what he’ll be able to do with just one year to get it done. People forget that Burrow had a season to become acclimated (and it was a completely pedestrian season by all accounts) to the system and coaches at LSU. To ask Newman to repeat that success in just one season — a season that may very well be shortened beyond just having no spring camp — seems like a pretty tall order.

What makes all this Heisman-Burrow-repeat talk all the more silly-sounding is the fact that even Kirby Smart has come forward saying Newman hasn’t even locked down the starting role yet. This is a very, very deep group of quarterbacks Georgia has and Newman is going to have to beat some pretty stiff competition.

The Georgia head coach told Atlanta’s 680 The Fan:

"“Certainly, he’s gonna be thrust to the forefront and be given reps. Just like Stetson Bennett is, just like D’wan Mathis, just like Carson’s gonna be given that opportunity. So I don’t ever look past it and say it’s just this guy’s job. He just has the most gain experience. And that’s the advantage. Yes.”"

Time to just pump those proverbial brakes on the Heisman talk, the Joe Burrow comparisons and anything beyond Newman bringing some needed experience and depth to the Georgia quarterback room.

The real worry should be that offensive line. But, like Rudolph, that’s another story for another time.