Georgia’s surprise signee yesterday seems to be saying it both ways.
“I just signed with Georgia,” Mathis told The Detroit News. “It’s not always about Justin Fields. I didn’t know if Fields was going to Ohio State so I decided to go to a place that I had the best chance of playing at in a couple of years.
“I’ve been wavering back and forth for the last couple of days, but I decided today (Wednesday) really. I decided to go to Georgia because of my chances of playing more. They only have one quarterback on scholarship on their roster (Jake Fromm). I’m enrolling early, can’t wait to get there.”
If I’m reading that right, he seems to be saying that the uncertainty for him isn’t Fields staying at Georgia, but maybe/maybe not going to Ohio State. As a result, Georgia became Mathis’ safer default option.
Evidently, while that may have been a late decision on his part, it was a decision that had been guided for a while.
The idea of potentially having Jake Fromm as the only scholarship quarterback on hand for spring practice was a troubling thought indeed, and that’s the reason – according to head coach Kirby Smart – that he and his recruiting staff had been keeping their eyes peels for potential late additions for basically the entire 2018 football campaign.
“I mean you wouldn’t be a very good coach if you didn’t think this could happen all year, right? So, we were anticipating this as we looked across the country at quarterbacks,” Smart said. “What you find tough is you’re talking in hypotheticals. So yeah, I might be interested coach, if this, if that, if you all have one guy. That’s hard to do in the middle of a season. So, I was very animated with our staff about continuing to recruit kids across the country, because we have a possible situation with one of them with one quarterback on scholarship.”
With Mathis, his interest in the Bulldogs was already established. He camped at Georgia over the summer, and despite his commitment to Ohio State, the Bulldogs stayed in contact with the four-star performer throughout the year.
“We tried to keep relationships developed,” Smart said. “But that one came really fast, where there was mutual interest, he had come here to camp before, and he jumped on board.”
At some point, then, prudence morphed into necessity. Would the results have been the same without Smart’s planning, though?
Get The Picture 
I really don’t think Kirby could have handled the Fields situation any better from day one. (Perhaps Chaney could have, but who knows). He made every attempt to get him tons of playing time, and tried his best to make him happy. Then, when he ultimately couldn’t, he was ready with a backuo plan. Impressive. And man, I really like Mathis. I hope he is a wild success in Athens.
LikeLike
On the one hand, the coaches weren’t afraid go put him in at critical moments in the SEC championship. However, overall I feel Justin was mismanaged. The whole put him in for one play and then take him out schtick got old fast. It wasn’t effective, and you could even argue it cost us the game in Atlanta. If you want to give Fields a chance, give him an actual series to himself and let him get into a rhythm, or don’t play him at all.
As much as I love Kirby, managing quarterbacks isn’t his strong suit. We’ve now let two QBs that are once in a generation players slip away. If Fromm gets injured next season we are in trouble.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re putting this on Kirby? Nobody “let” Eason and Fields slip away. Eason left and Fields will be leaving for the same reason: they insist on being the starter but couldn’t beat Jake Fromm. So the lesson here is that there’s really only room for one alpha at a time. Because that’s how high school QB who are automatically labeled “generational” think. Tua even said before this season that he was going to transfer from Alabama after last season…until the national championship game changed his situation. How many “generational” quarterbacks do you think can reside on one roster in this day and age? Do you REALLY think that we could ACTUALLY have Fromm, Eason and Fields on the roster right now, if only Kirby was better at managing them?
LikeLike
Exactly, 88. Like I said, maybe Chaney mismanaged his snaps, but Kirby made sure he was getting in and getting his practice reps. He can’t control Fields, he can only control how he deals with the decisions Fields makes. And he’s done well with that.
LikeLike
my guess is, this is more on Smart (inserting Fields), not Chaney.
LikeLike
This. Fromm puts 5* QBs out to pasture. They can’t unseat the kid even though they have better physical attributes. Fromm is simply too much of a student of the game with his knowledge.
LikeLike
I’m not disagreeing here, but Fromm has skills, too. He doesn’t have the beautiful arm of Eason or Fields.
I think what sets him apart is his impact on those around him. The other players respond to him in a way they simply didn’t with Eason.
LikeLike
I agree with you. I think anyone can see he doesn’t have the physical attributes (e.g. arm talent, running ability, height, etc…) But for what he lacks in those departments, he brings even more to the table with his leadership and smarts.
LikeLike
Mecole said Fields was still struggling with getting them in he right play (as expected). Fromm doesn’t!
Fields is tantalizingly good, but that Auburn series, starting on 2, ending on the 20 and what Mike Griffith says was his panic at just running into the line instead of letting Swift actually get open against an Ala. linebacker was telling us he wasn’t quite ready for full-time prime-time yet.
LikeLike
People can have legit, defensible criticism of JF1, but to criticize his role or actions in the fake punt – any of it – is insane.
That one is 1000% on the coach
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t remember Eason making too many throws like that dime Fromm dropped over Ridley’s shoulder in Atlanta. Fromm is the better passer and has an arm of close to equal strength. Eason often threw too high, too hot, and ugly – his passes would flutter without a tight spiral.
LikeLike
To be fair, Eason didn’t have the oline Fromm had his freshman year. Not to mention Eason was dealing with the growing pains of a new staff and first year head coach. I love Fromm, but Eason has the better arm.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep. And if Kirby hadn’t insisted on flipping Fromm from Bama, we’d have Eason finishing his third year as a starter ready to enter the draft and Fields waiting to take over next year. Tua would be at Hawaii or USC. But nooooo, Kirby had to mess things up by getting Fromm on board. Too bad he didn’t learn anything about managing qb’s Fromm Saban.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2017/08/08/ex-alabama-qbs-nick-saban-screwed-us/amp/
LikeLiked by 3 people
LOL!
LikeLike
How can they both be once in a generation? I sort of kid, but we need to be careful in anointing these guys before they do much of anything. I hope these guys both “make it”, but equal talents have fallen well short before
LikeLike
Exactly, “once in a generation” based on what??? Beating up on inferior high school talent and camping really good in shorts? Jeff Driskel was a “once in a generation” talent too. How’d that work out.
LikeLike
Not trying to be a jerk, but can you really have two “once in a generation” players? And they were both beat out by Fromm, so wouldn’t that make him the once in a very short generation player.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Agree with barney and bat city. At some point, Fromm has to get the credit for beating them out. He is solid, with really good physical talent, good size, and an incredible understanding of the offense that Georgia plays. And he seems to maximize every bit of his talent. I hate losing Fields and know he will be successful, but I think we’d all be a lot more worried if it was Fromm that decided he didn’t like coming out for a series or play every now and then and decided to transfer. We’d be up fecal creek, so I’m glad Fromm is the QB.
LikeLike
Ha. To clarify, I’m not knocking Fromm by ANY means. He deserves to be the starter. I feel “the plan is there is no plan” hurt us in the end. You never got a sense that Cheney/Smart knew what they were doing with Fields. Throwing him into a single play in critical moments wasn’t the best way to develop him or take advantage of his talent.
I do acknowledge managing multiple 5star QBs is no easy feat, but we are now in an uncomfortable position of being one injury away from a disaster season.
LikeLike
I think the plan was a tight rope walk that kept both QBs playing at UGA. Smart’s nightmare scenario was one of the two got beat out and unplugged from the team in anticipation of a transfer. Judging from the ESD Smart doesn’t plan on going into a season with only 2 QBs ever again.
LikeLike
Eason and Fields have a higher ceiling than Fromm. It’s a question of whether you put Fields or Eason in the game so they can develop or you ride Fromm. Fields and Eason have Stafford type talent, but the second we develop them they will be gone to the NFL.
Fromm is very talented though, and an excellent QB. We saw what he can do in the SEC Championship game. The kid can play! It’s just that he doesn’t have an elite arm so no one is scared of his deep ball and he doesn’t have the legs to get a first down. We saw his limitations in the second half of the SEC CG as Bama made it tougher and tougher to move the ball.
Perhaps this is the new normal under Kirby. We have recruited some incredibly talented QBs and we split hairs over which one gives us the best chance of beating Bama.
LikeLike
Agree, but not sure we can say that about Fromm’s arm at all. He has made some perfect throws throughout his two years. Those were very small windows he threaded against some elite DBs in the SECCG, and he has done that often over almost 30 games, several in big high pressure situations. The down and out near the sidelines is a very tough throw, and he excels at it. He has also hit some receivers in mid stride with balls traveling over 50 yards in the air. Maybe not elite when judged as a howitzer, but that is a rare need in passing unless it is a long Hail Mary ala FU and TN.
It is too simplistic to say he simply knows the offense better, his arm is damned good, and he has good touch and a high completion percentage. I will concede if it comes to a long throw contest, he in’t your guy to heave it 80 yards. Fromm is more than a game manager, he seems to be the total package from what we have seen from him…beginning with his very first quarter of play. Not saying he doesn’t make some mistakes, miss some throws, or overlook an open guy sometimes, but I have yet to see a QB who doesn’t do that occasionally. I think if he had been rated a Top 2 prospect coming out of HS, as Fields and Eason were there would be less scrutiny on every missed opportunity.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks fine to me:
LikeLike
Can run fast, throw far & has good size = “higher ceiling”??
WGAS, my idea of a good quarterback is a good/great leader & someone that can get the ball to his playmakers. Pretty sure Fromm is better than the other two you mentioned…and could be one of the best, if not the best in CF. Jake “The Quarterback Killer” Fromm….given the options out there, I would take him any day of the week.
LikeLike
Very true. The measurables for QBs involve his height, hand size, etc. that are more about his appeal to the NFL. I could care less about how strong/tall he is at age 23. This is college football, stars should be based on what he brings to the college team of choice, not the other sport called pro football. Never have understood that being the rating criteria for a HS player looking to play the next 3-4 years in an offensive college scheme. That is the next rating service and is run by scouts of NFL teams, WTF?
LikeLike
agree, have said the same since this started early in the season…… I would have prefer seeing him put in when the game is not in doubt. Not when it is still in doubt. Seen too many times where it had disrupted the offense, probably even the SECGG. But that is on the staff, not Fields.
LikeLike
IF Fromm had been injured this year, we would have been in big trouble.
LikeLike
Just curious. Who do you think would have beaten us besides the two teams that did?
LikeLike
I once read where a generation was defined as 14 years. So, maybe Eason and Fields are once in a generation talents but they are certainly not once in a generation players right now.
Last time I looked at the Washington depth chart was about a year ago and seems to me like Eason was going to have some competition to be able to start. I refuse to do further research on Washington as I just don’t care enough.
I’m sure Fields did wonders at “The Opening” against other high school quarterbacks but I have no confidence he could start and win a competitive SEC game right now unless the plan was to hand the ball off or drop back and then take off running.
Things may go great for Fields and Eason from here on out but they also may not. None of us really know either’s makeup, toughness, competitiveness, work ethic, and leadership. From I have seen while they both were, neither of them can hold Fromm’s jock as a complete player.
LikeLike
Don’t once in a generation QBs come along apx once every 20 years, by definition?
LikeLike
An Ohio State reporter intimated yesterday that it was an academic issue that kept him out of OSU.
LikeLike
Yeah, nothing sends up academic red flags like enrolling early.
LikeLike
I’m guessing its because a school of such high character standards, holds firm to academic qualifications…no?
I’m disappointed about the Fields move but I don’t think the UGA staff could have done much better short of offending Fromm to appease Fields…not to mention failing at the ‘play the best players’ mantra.
LikeLike
Fromm only played 12 out of 16 quarters in the first 4 games… those four other quarters they could have actually let fields run something other than a kill the clock offense.
They did a worse job with eason. It’s no surprise when you are basically only brought in to either hand it off or get blitzed while you a in a 3rd and long that you get frustrated.
For a sport that depends on game tape.. handing it off and not being put in good situations while throwing the ball doesn’t coach you up.
LikeLike
Agree with how the time he played should have been utilized. I wish they would have challenged he on plays to grow him and help him learn the reads. I was just thinking overall time shared. I did think in some of the blow outs he could have played more. Also, I didn’t like the one play in and then out substitutions. Overall It is smart to take care of your #1 but maybe they could have done both.
LikeLike
+100
LikeLike
Of course they did, because we all know aOSU is a bastion of academic excellence. Just ask Maurice Claret.
LikeLike
… and they just put their former football coach on the faculty with what I can only assume is a salary commensurate with his peers and colleagues.
LikeLike
That “remark” is a passive aggressive way of expressing their mantra that they’re just better than us.
For certain it is sour grapes!
LikeLike
Nothing kept him ‘out’ of OSU. They would have signed him if he hadn’t flipped. The only issue is over having the credits to enroll early. Funny how this wasn’t brought up until he flipped. It may be an issue here also, and is probably the reason for getting Bennett. Absolutely had to have a guy for spring.
LikeLike
That’s adorable.
“We ain’t here to play school.”
LikeLike
At 6’5″ 200 pounds, it’s good to get him on the S&C program early.
Welcome to Athens, Dwan!
LikeLike
Does dude have any hoops skills?
LikeLike
We could probably put together a pretty good 5 for basketball just from our football team. We have several that are 6-5 or taller.
LikeLike
Back in the Stegeman Hall days, there would always be one or two intramural basketball teams from the football program.
Only one or two could shoot, but damn they were physical.
LikeLike
I ran the UGA Intramural hoops program the years James Jackson and his frat won the championship. Holding a major university intramural program on four courts while on quarters was quite fun!
LikeLike
So, what’s the story on Plumlee? Everyone is acting as if he doesn’t exist..
Did he back out of his verbal with UGA?
LikeLike
The fact that he didn’t sign, I think, is a good thing, if we still want him to blueshirt. Remember if he blueshirts, he won’t sign an LOI at all, he would just enroll on his own later in the summer. The only way you can blueshirt is if you weren’t “officially” recruited – which means you cannot have taken an official visit (unofficial is fine), and you cannot sign at either of the signing days.
So the fact that he didn’t sign anywhere else hopefully means he’s still legitimately considering us.
LikeLike
Plumlee isn’t going to be an early enrollee, something that Smart wanted. He’s not out of the mix, but I don’t think they’ve taken the blueshirt off the table, either.
LikeLike
I think Plumlee is a baseball player with some potential for being drafted. Could be one of the factors that made it not be an early enrollee decision combined with the type of baseball season he has. Remember that Fields also wanted to play his HS baseball season but decided getting on campus in Athens was a higher priority.
LikeLike
What about the kid from Hawaii?
LikeLike
He went to the defending national champion UCF Golden Knights.
LikeLike
Yep. And I gotta be honest, once we flipped Mathis, I highly doubt if there even still an offer on the table for Gabriel. If we still really want Plumlee and think that’s gonna work out, they weren’t gonna commit to a scholly for a third quarterback in this class.
LikeLike
Thanks!
LikeLike
He got run over by the mailman.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No love for the return of the Mailman?
LikeLike
Mentioned him yesterday.
LikeLike
Just picking at you due to your fondness of spring game QBR debates.
LikeLike
He delivers…and his teammates know it.
LikeLike
And if Fields bolts before the Sugar, he might even see the field. Wouldn’t that be a turn of events?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Last week, Rodrigo Blankenship, kicker for the University of Georgia football team, graduated cum laude from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, completing his degree a semester early.
LikeLike
Rodrigo….one of the best Dawgs ever!
LikeLike
Already a media darling, expect to see him on TV long after his NFL career is over.
LikeLike
I was there as my daughter graduated with that class. I didn’t get to speak to Rodrigo but I watched as he walked. It appears his legs are 150lb of his 190lb body. It’s funny to hear my daughter tell stories about him in class. As you can tell when he’s not kicking a football he is a little awkward and cool at the same time…socially.
Anyway, watching my daughter walk through the arch was even more emotional than I expected. She graduated cum laude with a degree in PR and is already working in the Classic City. She is more Dawg than I could ever be. I’m stoked to say the least.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Can’t wait for the same feeling in May with our first!
LikeLike
🙂 I can assure you, you will be pleased with the way UGA organizes and orchestrates graduation. Classy school it is.
LikeLike
Very true. And pray for dry weather.
LikeLike
Lots of kids go to their departmental ceremony instead of the stadium.
LikeLike
Congratulations, go you your daughter, dawgtired!
Best of luck to the young lady in her future endeavors!
LikeLike
Congrats to you and your daughter. I graduated “Thank you laude” many years ago.
LikeLike
I got my masters in the Coliseum before there was AC, yuk!
LikeLike
What about D linemen? We signed one right? A good one but just one?
LikeLike
lol What? No, we didn’t sign just one.
LikeLike
Three defensive tackles in the class and four defensive ends.
LikeLike
LOL
LikeLike
It’s the guys with the DL, DT, WDE, SDE or even OLB beside their names.
LikeLike
Oh poor Jake Fromm!
Man did you complete it, and caused all this “Whatever talk”.
Poor Jake Fromm from WRHS comes in behind the most highly prized and touted QB in UGA history. The kid had a years experience in Chaney’s system. won a bowl game. could drop a ball in a players hand with no time on the clock or 50 yards down field.
But he got injured!
Ok Jake you are the guy. No pressure just go play like you did at Warner Robins. Skills, knew the play book, quick reads on the field. Injury or no injury Fromm would have been the QB by end of ’17.
Here comes another 5* that fans drool over.
Oh no, he can not cut it.
Now if he makes that play against Bama he sees a lot of PT.
Well, maybe. Did he have the “it” factor Fromm had as a frosh. Granted he was at a disadvantage re an injury to a starter.
But to Smart’s smarts re roster management.
Just wondering if Smart had a few Riddick moments. “Are you with me Kyra?”
You don’t think those coaches get feeling and vibes about a player during practice and a few snaps in a game.
Yeah I bet they do!
LikeLike
Jake didn’t play at Warner Robins High. As usual, you’re just talking out of your ass.
LikeLike
Houston County … brothers played at Warner Robins
LikeLike
Playing devils advocate. It doesn’t seem many people give much thought to Fields just not being ready…He looks like he has all the tools but he was also very slow to make reads. If his guy wasn’t there he would tuck and run. Maybe that’s the reason the coaches didn’t trust him to throw the ball but wanted to still get him meaningful reps??? Maybe he just wasn’t ready???
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m with you, Kdawg. It appeared to me that Fields just wasn’t ready and Kirby was not going to put him in for a whole series when he looked like a deer in headlights at times. I think Kirby tried to keep him happy by letting him play some, but he certainly wasn’t going to risk the game and I wouldn’t have either. Kirby was always bragging on him but when it came down to it, Fields wasn’t able to beat out Fromm. Oh well, that’s the way the cookie crumbled. Good luck and all the best to him. GO DAWGS!
LikeLike
Kirby did a masterful job with the QB situation over the past week. No detail is to small with this guy. He’s the best recruiter under 67 years old in cfb!
LikeLike
The thing that distinguishes a good quarterback from the rest is the brain. Eason did not have Fromm’s brain for the game and Fields did not play enough snaps to know. Fields needed more snaps in real time to know.
LikeLike
Totally agree about Fields needing more snaps, particularly when the game was in hand is when he should’ve been running the offense. Eason and Fields are similar in that they both played in spread offenses and they both had to learn how to read defenses and go through progressions. The difference is that Eason had to try to learn while dealing with bad o-line play. Heck, if I’m not mistaken, Eason had to learn how to take snaps from under center. Bottom line is that UGA is having first world problems now with 4 and 5 star qb’s coming and going.
LikeLike