Life is funny, sometimes. People love comparing Aaron Murray to Jake Fromm (unfortunately, often in a non-complimentary way), but Murray himself sees a natural comparison with Justin Fields and his situation.
“I was in a very heated battle with (Mettenberger),” Murray told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. “I remember that headed into spring ball, I told my parents ‘Hey this is going to be a battle, and if Mett wins it, good for him. If he does win it, I’m not going to stay. I’m going to go somewhere and find a new home and find a place I can compete and try to earn a starting position.’
“You come in there with a group of guys, guys you committed with, the school, the coaches, but at the end of the day, you do want to play. You don’t want to sit there and ride the pine for three or four years…”
I’m not sure why some of the fan base finds this so hard to accept.
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No issue at all with Fields wanting to go. I do think he would be a better QB if he stayed. The only issue I do have is the timing and the framing of why he should be eligible and how it leaked out. I believe Wolken’s source is the Fields lawyer who is trying to get him eligibility next season. His lawyer is contending because of racism he should be able to play. This is flat wrong. The person who threw out the racist epitat this past season was dealt with severely and swiftly. Racism is NOT a reason to grant him eligibility to play next season. This POS lawyer is painting UGA as a racist institution.
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That all may be true, but this is an “are walls this shyte will stick to” situation. I mean, in the end, coming to UGA and trying unseat a QB as good as Fromm was a poor decision, and now the only way he can really get the playing time he needs is if he gets that waiver.
I’m not saying it’s right, but it’s clear why they’re reaching as far as they are.
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JT beat me to it, but my spin is that I don’t have a problem if he wants to play and believes it’s in his best interest to go somewhere else for that opportunity. I will have a problem with a false narrative about my alma mater spread by a shyster lawyer to get him eligible. You can say it’s a fig leaf for the NCAA, but a lie is a lie.
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shyster lawyer- isn’t that like saying wet water? No offense Senator or any of you other barristers.
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I’m so glad you didn’t mean to offend me with your obvious insult.
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Poor attempt at humor. Meant for more the Siler and Jonap crowd, Would never intentionally insult the man with the handle of my favorite movie character.
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Eh, I was teasing you. As the old saw goes, everybody rags on lawyers until they need one. 😉
By the way, I think Siler and Jonap went their separate ways a while ago.
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I drove by their offices this morning.
Their sign has been updated.
“Silar, Blutarsky and Jonas, Shysters at Law”.
(another poor attempt at humor)
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Really? You think the use of the word shyster doesn’t provide separation? There are good and bad in all professions, the legal profession may think it is different, but it isn’t. Good and bad in noble professions like law enforcement. military, etc. Why would anyone be offended and feel that was an insult? Touchy and sensitive, imo.
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It says something about you, Mac, that you don’t think he gave offense even though he thinks he gave offense.
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With all due respect….
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Indeed.
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Bless his heart☺️
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How ever you wish to view it….good doctors/bad doctors, good white people/bad white people, good UGA fans/bad UGA fans, good black people/bad black people and on and on. Perhaps he really did mean to characterize you in with the shysters, and that is why he feels some guilt. 🙂 I always try to look at both sides and not judge the individual by the worst among them, unless I know something about them personally. Figured you for a white hat guy myself. My daughter is an attorney, didn’t offend me on her behalf.
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Let me go on the record by saying not all members of the esteemed bar are shysters. 😉
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Just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean everyone really loves you😉
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LOL! Reminds me of that comedian (forget who) that was talking about how you could always say “I don’t mean that in a bad way” to excuse anything. “Hey, your sister’s a whore. But I don’t mean that in a bad way.”
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In the South, you can say just about anything about anyone as long as you preface it with “Bless his heart”.
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No reason to insult barista’s here. I need them in the mornings.
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One grande double shot soy whip carmel mocha blonde hot latte for you!
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Aaron Murray was a tough QB for us and he’s a DGD on the field.
Cannot stand the guy off the field, or as an “analyst”.
His Florida sure does show.
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This ^^^
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This in spades. Hung out with him a little before last year’s SECCG. Not an experience I’m eager to repeat
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What? He’s been a DGD who continues to bleed R&B and represent us well. How is his “Florida” showing? Because he’s not a complete homer as an analyst?
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You’ve been in Cali too long if you can’t notice the douche.
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I’d love to here an example of two of why? A Tebow or Manziel he is not.
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I can relate & understand the frustration. However, I just don’t understand why QB’s feel this sense of entitlement of being able to play right away versus the guys at every other position who have to grind & earn the playing time. Fields clearly didn’t know what he was doing on the majority of the times I saw him drop back to pass. But he’s always been treated as special &, like an angry toddler, has a temper tantrum when things don’t go his way.
If he wants to leave in a mature fashion w/out the lie of racism, fine. But the next stop may not be any different. I know from conversations I had as a freshmen w/ my dad & we both agreed that UGA was the best place for me. I’m a better person for having stuck it out & earned my BBA.
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Because Fields’ value to the NFL and the # reps he gets in college are directly and strongly correlated. He needs to be on the field if he wants to accomplish his goals. Which means he should have signed somewhere else.
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Because every other position plays multiple players. Most of the time, teams only play 1 QB unless the game is already in hand. You can be #3 or 4 at the safety position and still get a decent amount of playing time in a close game against a top team. That usually doesn’t happen at QB.
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The reason the fan base finds this hard to accept in my opinion is that most of us wanted to play for our team and didn’t have the talent. That makes it easy for us to rationalize that we would be happy riding the pine just to be able to say we were on the UGA football team. And to have someone who has the talent to do what we never could, and want to throw it away to play for the enemy (all other teams are the enemy!), hurts us. But the problem comes when fans can’t chalk it up as yet another of life’s disappointments, but feel they need to attack the traitor on the internet, or even worse interact with the player in any fashion. I know that this 53 year old man, just as soon as I sign my papers, am not leaving UGA for any reason no matter how far down the depth chart I am because I gave Kirby my word when he extended me the offer!
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Fields said resentfully, “I handed the ball off good.” What did he expect he was going to do? Did he not watch Fromm in any of the games in 2017?
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To clarify my position in reply to Ugly below, I hold no ill will towards Fields. As long as he has a good attitude, I hope he stays a Dawg for perpetuity. If he leaves, I hope he does well. As long as it’s not for a rival. 😉
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“I’ll will” wasn’t a reference to your feelings..it is more of a reference to what I am seeing on posts over the last 24 hours, comments after written articles, and comments from friends and acquaintances.. This has pissed a lot of people off. Fields is still a kid in a lot of ways and he is being manipulated by those that see him as a prima donna. My point is that he has become a victim of those assholes. This got ugly before it even got moving and the one with the most to lose is the kid. The one with the most to gain is the lawyer who has already gone for Georgia’s jugular. Journalists (and I use the word lightly) will be making hay at UGA’s expense.
But there is I’ll will where before there was support and excitement.
Unless he’s very, very tough emotionally, it would be hard to continue at Georgia.
The good? This will all pass very quickly once he leaves and things settle in with a new back-up QB. CKS knows how to make lemon aide out of lemons. Some kid is going to get a hell of an offense to run in one or two years.
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The reason I put an apostrophe in I’ll is without it it becomes Ill. Probably would have been better off with lower case i…ill. I’ll try to remember that.
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👍🏻
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He has been quoted as saying that he really expected to compete and he really expected to win and that he really wanted to play at UGA. Maybe he was a bit overconfident in his own abilities, but he’s a competitor and still a kid and seems as though he was saying the right things about that.
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Which is why you should never listen to your critics. He believed his own hype. The video after the SCe game is disgusting. It shows a me first attitude, and he couldn’t care less about the TEAM victory over a SEC East “rival.” Great job Mom and Dad. You raised a entitled asshole.
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Now Fields almost has to leave.
It’s tough enough to be the QB at an elite program without ill will hanging over your head…especially following a much loved legend such as Fromm.
And the ill will is mounding up, as is evident in this very thread/blog.
Looks as if the methodology to get his transfer has the same base as the Fields’ apparent belief that their kid is prima donna.
How many other pine riders dads have had numerous personal meetings with CKS?
Look at the shit that’s been given to Rodrigo’s dad. Too bad he didn’t have a race card or maybe his kid would have gotten that scholarship a year earlier.
If the Fields play the race card they lose any and all respect I would have for them.
If UGA knuckles under (which is a foregone conclusion), it will be one more dead canary in the plight of those that try to do things right, even when it gets hard. I understand expediency, but it’s a double edged sword.
Bottom line..He’s a great talent and I wish him the best, but I think he’s shit in his own mess-kit as far as his time at UGA is concerned.
He’s made a huge misstep…not for desiring to play or even to leave, but by the way he’s gone about it. He’s gotten some terrible advice on his method.
I hope his dad keeps his ass out of his business at his next stop.
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I think the problem is others are doing this. I don’t imagine he was saying, “Let’s go talk to this lawyer who got Shea Patterson eligible.”
I don’t imagine he’s the one talking to Dan Wolken.
If he’s planning to leave, I think he should go on the record before the team heads to New Orleans. At that point, the coaches and his soon-to-be former teammates should determine whether it’s appropriate for him to travel with the team and participate in the team activities and the game.
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I disagree. This bowl game and the activities and gifts and all are rewards for this season. He deserves to be a part of that whether he leaves or not. He worked and practiced with the team all season.
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I get that. The question is whether he wants to deal with the press and whether the team wants to deal with the distractions. Kirby can’t protect him because every player is to be made available to the media. That’s why I said if he wants to attend, let the players have a say.
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Again Aaron Murray was in the same class. Fields would only have to stay behind Fromm one more year. Not to mention both of them played a more pro style offense in high school. Fields did not. Is it plausible that going to a spread offense team would help him better prepare for the NFL? It is not. Though after the stories I’m hearing I think would just kick him off the team for being a Cancer.
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Fields’s situation also just looks bad in comparison to Eason’s. Eason was a top quarterback recruit, too, who had performed pretty well as a true freshman himself with an offensive line that was not nearly as good as Fromm’s, AND he lost his job because of injury, not poor performance. This was after he beat out Fromm in spring and summer drills.
Eason didn’t get to come in a few times a game like Fields did and was always very supportive of Fromm. Eason decided to transfer and there was never much doubt that he would, but there was no drama attached to it.
I don’t know that Fields contributed to any of this drama himself, but the fact is that there is drama here when there wasn’t last season.
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The fact that they’ve hired an attorney created the drama. Had he just said I want to transfer and handled it with class like Eason did their would be very little said.
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Unfortunately true, and unfortunately Fields has now made an ugly bed to sleep in. I don’t see how he can stay. Every time he has a bad play, misses a receiver, gets picked, takes a sack, there will be those that will remember and remind. What a mess. People should have been encouraging the kid instead of constantly telling him he was getting screwed. It’s bad.
He would have had one of the very best teams in college football to lead for at least a year or two. Jame Fromm probably never thought he would get his chance as a true freshman..but situations are always changing.
Now, just bring on Plumlee. He’s excellent.
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I’ve never been one to drool over the potential of these incoming highly touted QB’s. Lots of fans were giddy over Eason and some are still giddy over Fields and I don’t understand that. It’s a complicated position and you have to be able to lead to really excel.
Eason had a pretty good freshman year but was not the leader Fromm is and I think that’s the main reason he didn’t get his spot back. I’m convinced the leadership committee/council/whatever its called on the team endorsed Fromm over Eason when Eason came back from injury.
With Fields I didn’t think he (or anyone else) was going to come in and beat out Fromm so what was the real point of signing him. What I saw from his play was confusion when he dropped back against an SEC defense. Has the ability to look great against UMass but that’s about it for right now. Why he even saw the field in the SECC game I have no idea- dumb to even play him. The kid needs development and that’s obvious. I don’t see how all of a sudden he’s going to be lights out at a different school unless the reads are simple and it’s okay to take off running much of the time.
I understand why this is big news because he’s a supposedly all world QB and he might be in 2-3 but that gives us plenty of time to find someone else.
Im ready for him to go. He’s shown nothing to earn any playing time except in mop up duty. I’m tired of hearing about him and if he doesn’t want to be here get gone – immediately. He and his family have had plenty of time to think about it. Adios muchacho.
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The crucial difference is Murray was competing for an open position. Fields was trying to unseat a starter that went to the MNC game.
I guess he took it hard that he wasn’t the starter but he should have seen this coming and thought a little bit harder about how to handle things if he didn’t start right away. I think he’s being a quitter and damaging his career at the same time.
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I don’t have a problem accepting that he wants to transfer so he can play. I do have a problem with how he and his family have handled said transfer.
As previously stated, Eason just announced his intentions and left with class.
There is no class in getting lawyered up, claiming systematic racism on campus so you can get eligible immediately, and then bolting.
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I can’t blame Fields for transferring. Sure, I’d love for him to stay and play in the red and black, but it’s just bad timing with Fromm being the man. I’d love to see the kid get a chance to start somewhere for a couple of years and see what he can do. The sky’s the limit for him, I believe.
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If anyone is upset iit is because Fields always intended to leave if he couldn’t beat Fromm out this year. The transfer talk started about two games into the season. consequently, UGA is facing a high likelihood of starting a freshman qb (or a walkon) in 2020. Why does it seem that the Dawgs are always a player short?
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I think Fromm is staying unless he gets an incredibly high draft grade.
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Still don’t understand why we’d recruit a duel threat QB if we’re never going to run anything but a pocket passer offense. I thought having Fromm and Fields could be the best of both worlds. We could throw Fromm at defenses with the pro-style attack or use Fields to do RPOs and spreads. It gave us all kinds of situational options. The problem with having a lot of talented players with different skills is that you’ve then got to learn how to best use it.
For folks who doggedly stick to the notion that Fields wanted a pro-style offense, I say Fields is/was never going to be a more athletic version of Fromm. Hard to believe our coaches, who should know better, couldn’t or wouldn’t accept this basic fact from the get-go.
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Plumlee is a duel threat. But I think he’s more adaptable to the pro set than Fields. Stetson Bennett…duel threat…the kid Georgia just flipped from tOSU is a duel threat. If you can get a duel threat QB that will stay in the pocket on pass plays and go through his progressions before he runs, you’ve got a winner. Better than a QB that goes through his progressions and ends up eating the ball or throwing it out of bounds. Also when protection breaks down, scrambling can turn a bad play into a great one.
Who wouldn’t want a pocket passer that can run too? But he must be a very good pocket passer and defense reader.
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Aaron Murray was a dual threat qb out of high school…
And I saw a lot of zone read and RPOs this year. Not sure which games you watched.
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Haven’t seen anyone mention the obvious distinction between Murray and Fields’ respective situation. Murray and Mett were the same age and both had already burned their redshirt year, so whoever lost the job was relegated to the bench in perpetuity. Fields is a year behind Fromm and could add another gap year if he chose to take a redshirt. Which means, this Fields drama that broke into a fever pitch before just before ESD isn’t about playing time, it’s about immediate playing time. If he chooses to leave then that’s his decision, but he will have gained many a dissenter pulling for his failure and it will be well deserved imo. Crybaby snowflake.
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Good point.
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I don’t have a problem with him wanting to transfer; I have a problem with him being a pain in the ass. I find it particularly annoying that someone that can’t move to their second read feels the need to demand more playing time. Fields cause a bunch of division among the fanbase. I wonder how much it affected the team.
I believe the only reason Kirby put Fields in the SECCG was an attempt to get him to stay. If Fromm had managed to instead convert any of those plays / drives into a first down, they could have burned and extra two minutes of clock. That jackass may have literally cost us a SEC Championship and possibly a National Championship.
The real kicker is the rumors of their bullshit plan to label my Alma Mater as racist so that he don’t have to sit a year like everyone else. The situation is nothing like with Murray and Metterburger. They basically knew they were going to redshirt and then fight it out. Fields couldn’t unseat a starter and then acts like he wasn’t give a shot (or, more appropriately, wasn’t given what he thought he didn’t have to earn).
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Kirby called the play and then didn’t call the time out. Kirby cost his team that, not Fieds. Blame Fields for listening to a lawyer who sees a massive loophole in the NCAA rulebook, or blame the NCAA for creating that loophole, but I’m not blaming Fields for any of this.
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You do realize that Fields was in the game for more than just that play, right? You also realize that the entire game was not won or lost on that play, right? If the team would have gotten an extra first down on any of those plays from having Fromm at QB, then the Dawgs win the game and the fake punt never happens.
The problem with Fields is not just that he is transferring. Look at the quote from the father of the new 4* QB Kirby flipped from Ohio State. It tells you all you need to know that Fields has been a divisive jackass the whole time.
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Hey I’m just glad that QB is the only position we have to worry about the playing time. I think all the other positions recognize that not playing every snap is a good thing for their future pro career.
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Murray’s right about wanting to play. And QB’s are a different breed in that respect. We actually had three guys leave after last season, two being scout team walk-ons. Bennett got the playing time he wanted at JUCO, and Sam Vaughn started for his DII team. Either would have gotten all the snaps Downing got this year. If Bennett had a little patience, he’d probably go into next season as the number two, at least until Mathis got up to speed (or another qb we may sign). Good for Vaughn though:
https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2018-09-19/how-west-floridas-sam-vaughn-went-georgia-practice-squad-starting
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It sounds like UGA might be better off. From Dwan Mathis’ (last minute QB flip) father on his commitment:
“Dwan understands the program and the role he has been recruited for, to learn from the current quarterback and not be divisive or cause any problems. He respects the head coach and Coach (Jim) Chaney and he is ready to come in and put his head down and go to work.”
Hoo boy.
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Bets that a kid named Stetson Bennett is kicking himself in the rear end for his decision to transfer last summer. He would be our #2 qb this year and probably wouldn’t be beat out by either of the 2019 signees in 2020 or 2021.
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Stetson just accepted a scholly offer. He’ll practice this week.
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