UGA football roster: Jamie Newman is worthy of the preseason hype

Rather than reboot with a freshman quarterback in 2020, UGA football signed graduate transfer Jamie Newman to compete for the starting job.

Jamie Newman transferring changed the perception of the 2020 UGA football team. Without three-year starting quarterback Jake Fromm to lead the new offense, the Bulldog’s were going to enter a rebuilding mode. Now, the narrative is that 2020 should once again conclude with Georgia on top of the SEC East.

Meanwhile, Newman’s name has appeared near the top of the Heisman Trophy odds and on the watchlists of several awards. That’s heavy praise for a guy who’s spent his entire college career at Wake Forrest after being a three-star recruit coming out of high school.

Through one full season as a starter, Newman showed he may have been better than the recruiting sites originally thought. He passed for 2,868 yards and rushed for 576 yards while scoring 32 touchdowns in 12 games. He did a great job spreading the ball around the field as six targets caught at least 20 passes and had over 200 receiving yards.

As a passer, his best traits are his arm strength and ball placement, which he uses the former to excel at the latter. Newman throws with a lot of velocity, meaning his passes travel far without swaying off their intended course. Against tight, single coverage, Newman is great about placing the ball in an area where only his receiver has a shot at making the catch.

As a runner, Newman is very patient. He isn’t just a scrambler who takes off after a few reads. Newman keeps his eyes downfield when running out of the pocket and only runs for yardage after exhausting all other options.

It’s easy to see why the media, Las Vegas and Georgia fans have fallen in love with Jamie Newman. He is the real deal, it doesn’t matter what conference or team he is coming from. Newman has attributes that translate well to any level of football.