Remember the days when Georgia was known for quarterbacks who stuck around for their one opportunity to start?
That was then; this is now.
No program in today’s transfer-heavy quarterback era has taken more body blows than Georgia. Five-star Jacob Eason? Gone. Five-star Justin Fields. Gone. The future of the quarterback room following Jake Fromm’s NFL departure? In question.
Thursday afternoon the Bulldogs struck back.
USC transfer JT Daniels made the somewhat surprising announcement that he’d continue his career in Athens…
Daniels’ eligibility status is unclear – he’s expected to apply for a waiver – yet that is far from the point of this move. Even if Daniels can’t compete in 2020, Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman is positioned to ably guide the Bulldogs for a year, and he’s gotten plenty of buzz as a player who can drag Georgia’s offense into the 21st century. Daniels is a future assurance, a rare win-now piece played one year in advance.
Makes you wonder how Mark Richt would have handled the transfer portal back in the day.
Smart could’ve held pat and had Carson Beck and incoming 2021 five-star Brock Vandagriff compete for the job following Newman’s graduation. But why deal in uncertainties? Georgia will likely have a potential All-American redshirt junior under center leading a roster with more than enough talent to win a national title.
This is not to say this aggressive strategy lacks risk. Back-to-back transfer QBs will result in some sort of attrition. Smart knows that better than anyone.
That he does. It’s a different era and that means different roster strategies. At least Kirby’s got experience with it now.
Get The Picture 
Genius at roster management. GENIUS.
Now let’s go play offense like we know we have THAT defense in case of a bad turnover.
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Kirby could’ve had Plumlee too. All he had to do was open a roster spot.
Kirby is an incredible recruiter/roster manager. Like seemingly every other position on the team, QB has 5-star talent and depth. Seems to me Kirby’s one of the best, if not THE best, QB recruiters in cfb. Though I’m sure many would argue about recruiting Fields vs. Lawrence. Lamenting the loss of Fromm a year early is all but forgotten.
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I liked Plumlee too, but I believe he offered him as a walkon. If that didn’t change, I can’t blame the kid.
A heckuva talent…
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The intricacies of roster management (i e, when scholarships became available) meant Plumlee was offered a blueshirt because he wasn’t willing to come in early; he wanted to play his senior year of HS baseball. Had he been an EE, he’d probably have come here.
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Blue shirt, that’s right…thanks!
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Plumlee is intriguing but I’d rather have Newman and Daniels.
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Last season, Plumlee was in a great offensive scheme for his skill set. Which is to say he wouldn’t be in one at UGA.
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“No program in today’s transfer-heavy quarterback era has taken more body blows than Georgia. Five-star Jacob Eason? Gone. Five-star Justin Fields. Gone. The future of the quarterback room following Jake Fromm’s NFL departure? In question.”
How many schools recruited 5-star QBs three years in a row?
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