Georgia Football: Jake Fromm-Justin Fields Is The Song That Never Ends

Jake Fromm-Justin Fields is the Georgia football song that never ends.
It just goes on and on, my friend.
Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was.
And, they’ll continue singing it forever, just because
Fromm-Fields is the song that never ends…

Georgia football fans were forced to do a calendar double-take as they scrolled their Twitter feeds this week.

Is it 2018?  

Surely it must be, because the never-ending quarterback competition between Jake Fromm and Justin Fields suddenly dominated the Twittersphere again.

The culprit driving the circa-2018 headlines was an otherwise ho-hum NFL preseason game between the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills, the current respective professional homes of Fields and Fromm.

First, there was this tweet from former NFL safety turned ESPN analyst Ryan Clark early in the week.

(Cue heavy sighing from Georgia football fans.)

Then, during the Bears-Bills game, there was this pot-stirrer from Pro Football Focus – College.

https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1429157499446431764

(Hashtag, Facepalm.)

It’s easy for the drive-by Georgia football observers to tweet out something so simplistically conclusive in an effort to be pithy.

But there’s so much more nuance to the Jake Fromm-Justin Fields story.

Certainly perspective is a username you’ll never see on Twitter, Facebook or message boards, but in the Fields-Fromm song that never ends, it’s sorely needed.

When Justin Fields and Jake Fromm locked horns in the 2018 battle to be QB1 for Georgia football, Jim Chaney occupied the booth as the Dawgs offensive coordinator.

Of all the factors that contributed to Jake Fromm being the Georgia signal-caller during the 2018 season, Chaney being the offensive coordinator may be the most important, yet undercited factor in the entire equation.

Think an offensive coordinator is inconsequential in this discussion? Ask Georgia fans about Brian Schottenheimer and then take a seat. Just make sure your drink has a fresh pour beforehand.

Chaney rose to prominence during his time at Purdue with Joe Tiller and future Saints legend Drew Brees, running a spread offense later termed “basketball on grass” for its fast-break style and verticality.

After a stint in the NFL with the Rams, he went on to have success utilizing the same spread concepts as the offensive coordinator Tennessee from 2009-2012.

No doubt innovative, Chaney’s spread offenses were not the zone-read spreads that rose to prominence by the time Fromm and Fields competed for the quarterback job at Georgia.

Let’s look at the list of quarterbacks that found success while Chaney held the play-call sheet at Purdue and Tennessee: Drew Brees, Kyle Orton, Curtis Painter, Matt Simms, Justin Worley, and Tyler Bray. That list doesn’t exactly scream – “ability to make plays with arm and legs”.

Jake Fromm spent his prep career playing for Von Lassiter and the Houston County Bears, running a pocket-based spread offense akin to the one employed by Jim Chaney throughout his career.

For a guy who ended up playing his entire true freshman season at Georgia, Fromm couldn’t have walked in to a much easier transition from a scheme perspective.

The results of the 2017 season reflect that seamless transition. Fromm led Georgia to an 11-1 regular season with a nationally televised road win over Notre Dame and a coveted victory in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

His magical freshman campaign ended with an SEC title, a thrilling Rose Bowl victory over Oklahoma in the CFP semis, and an appearance in the Game That Shall Not Be Named.

Fromm equipped himself well, completing 62% of his passes en route to throwing for 2,600 yards. Probably most importantly, he protected the football, throwing 26 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.

When Georgia football started fall camp in 2018, Georgia fan’s were riding high. Not only were the Dawgs coming off their most successful season of the 21st century, it was also the second season in a row a highly-touted freshman quarterback would be taking reps in camp.

Like Jake Fromm before him, Justin Fields arrived in Athens as an in-state, Georgia-grown talent recently featured in the TV show QB1, which chronicled his senior season as a Harrison High Hoya.

Harrison High head coach Matt Dickmann’s offense was historically a Wing-T style attack. That all changed because of Justin Fields legs and his powerful right arm.

Dickmann shifted to a more modern scheme akin to the zone-read spreads that were starting to light up college football, allowing Fields to showcase his acumen as a passer, while also taking advantage of his game-breaking ability on the ground.

Fields flourished, and he chose Georgia after being ranked the No. 1 high school recruit in the country in the 2018 ESPN 300.

Although Kirby Smart never declared Jake Fromm QB1 during fall camp, he continually indicated that Fromm was repping with the 1s, and I think most Georgia fans would tell you, coming off of the team’s 2017 success, the expectation was always that Jake would be the starter and Justin would play a complementary role, possibly even having a dedicated package of plays each week as a change of pace.

For the first six games of the 2018 season, Georgia football picked up right where they left off in 2017, racing out to a 6-0 start and the No. 2 spot in the rankings.

Heading in to Death Valley for a SEC on CBS game of the week against LSU, Jake Fromm’s second-year growth was evident. He was completing 73% of his passes and had a TD-to-INT ratio of 5-to-1 for a Dawgs offense hitting on all cylinders and averaging 43 points per game.

Justin Fields was seeing action as well, but it was not what Dawg fans had expected. Instead of dedicated packages or series for Fields, taking advantage of his ability to beat teams with his arm and his legs, his game time consisted of running Jim Chaney’s offense.

LSU’s defense made Fromm and the offense look pedestrian and the Tigers walked out of Death Valley with a convincing 36-16 victory.

Heading in to the bye week before the SEC East showdown with Florida in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, the fanbase was clamoring to see what Justin Fields could do with more snaps.

Kirby Smart stuck with Fromm, and his faith was rewarded. The Dawgs ripped off five straight wins to close out the season, wrapped up a second consecutive berth in the SEC Championship Game, and Fromm operated with the same accuracy and proficiency that he exhibited the first six games of the season.

Georgia entered the SECCG against Alabama a two-touchdown underdog. Prohibitive Heisman favorite Tua Tagovailoa led a No. 1 ranked Alabama team that most analysts tabbed the greatest team of all-time.

Fromm and Georgia came out like men possessed, establishing a commanding 28-14 3rd quarter lead. Fromm was nearly flawless, throwing for over 300 yards and 3 TDs, but for the second time in less than a year, Georgia couldn’t make a second half lead against the Tide stand.

The loss also produced the play most fans remember from Justin Fields’ Georgia career. With the game tied in the 4th quarter, the Dawgs called a fake punt. 

Fields took a direct snap, looked to throw, and then, under pressure, tucked and ran the ball. The Alabama punt return team sniffed out the fake, and stuffed Fields well short of the line to gain.

The play illustrated a disconnect that had been lurking all season. Georgia football had a dynamic weapon that offensive coordinator Jim Chaney wasn’t quite sure how to use.

Instead of developing pieces of the offense around Fields’ explosive talents – vertical throws off read options, quarterback runs out of the gun with single-back sets, etc, – Chaney tried to dim a firework and constrain him in an offense designed around methodical ball control.

It became apparent throughout the season that Fields was frustrated. That sentiment was confirmed when a postgame video clip emerged of him talking to a teammate after Georgia football drubbed South Carolina in Columbia 41-17.

Justin Fields and Georgia was a marriage made with the best of intentions, but the honeymoon was over.

You’ll notice that both tweets this week said, “Kirby Smart chose Jake Fromm over Justin Fields.”

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

In the 2018 season, the returning starting quarterback from a team that was a blown coverage away from being national champs with a year under his belt in the team’s offense beat out a true freshman who hadn’t taken a college snap.

He then proceeded to lead Georgia to an 11-1 record in the regular season, eclipsed his completion percentage, passing yards, and touchdown-to-interception ratio from the previous season, and played the best game of his career in the SEC Championship game against an Alabama team that folks were saying was the greatest college team ever to lace up their cleats.

Absent an injury to sensational Georgia pass rusher and edge contain maestro D’Andre Walker, the legend of Alabama backup quarterbacks would only be a one chapter story instead of two.

Following the SECCG, Justin Fields made the decision to enter his name in the transfer portal.

Kirby Smart did not make that decision.

Even after Fields entered his name in the portal, Kirby Smart still welcomed him as part of the team, and Fields participated in all bowl practices and dressed for the Sugar Bowl against Texas.

For the 2018 season, Kirby Smart chose to stick with the incumbent starter fresh off of a national championship game appearance. It was the right choice for the 2018 season. Anyone who pushes a narrative otherwise is being disingenuous.

Could Justin Fields have been utilized better in his true freshman season?

Absolutely.

Does the thought of a Georgia offense with Todd Monken as OC and Justin Fields as quarterback in the 2020 season keep Dawgs fans up at night?

No doubt.

But, let’s be clear, Kirby Smart was never given the actual opportunity to choose Jake Fromm over Justin Fields. Justin Fields made that choice for him by transferring to Ohio State.

I certainly don’t pretend to know how all Georgia football fans feel, but I hope their feelings are similar to mine, and I am absolutely thrilled for how things turned out for Justin Fields after his transfer to Ohio State.

I’m also thrilled for Jake Fromm. And for Kirby Smart.

Fields made the perfect transfer decision.

He chose to play for Urban Meyer, who built an offense that produced the likes of Alex Smith, Tim Tebow, Braxton Miller, Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett, and Dwayne Haskins.

All quarterbacks that could make all the throws, extended plays with their feet, and gave defenses fits having to defend the possibility of the run while also defending against the vertical passing attack.

He led OSU to two Big Ten titles, two CFP appearances, and he was a Heisman finalist in 2019. This spring, the Chicago Bears traded up in the NFL Draft to make him their quarterback of the future (and possibly this season) with the 11th overall pick.

Jake Fromm started for Georgia in 2019 and led the Dawgs to another win over Florida in the Cocktail Party, a third straight appearance in the SEC Championship Game, and a victory over Baylor in the Sugar Bowl.

After declaring for the NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills selected him in the 5th round of the 2020 NFL Draft and like Fields, he is living out his dream of playing in the league.

Kirby Smart and the Georgia football team enter 2021 a legitimate national title contender. They return a Heisman candidate in quarterback JT Daniels, and everybody’s favorite Swedish Fish-erman Jordan Davis anchoring the Junkyard Dawgs D.

If Georgia football fans never heard someone snidely say again –  “Kirby Smart chose Jake Fromm over Justin Fields” – it’d be too soon.

Unfortunately, the lead-up to a Bills-Bears preseason game this week affirmed one thing.

Jake Fromm-Justin Fields is the Georgia football song that never ends . . .