The rumors are growing louder as Georgia football moves forward without Jake Fromm and Jamie Newman still on the market. He’s a perfect fit in Athens.
It’s been a rough week for Georgia football. After a slew of transfers and NFL departures, Jake Fromm’s decision to leave was the cherry on top of the poor-tasting sundae.
Fromm had an interesting career with Georgia and fans’ reactions varied from relieved to stressed out over the loss of the three-year starter. He took over for Jacob Eason when he went down with an injury in 2017 and passed for 2,615 yards and 24 touchdowns with seven interceptions and a 62 percent completion rate.
How did he follow up a breakout freshman season? By passing for 2,749 yards and 30 touchdowns with a 67 percent completion rate and just six picks. He was on his way to becoming one of the nation’s best quarterbacks in 2019, but he had a letdown of a season.
Although his numbers weren’t bad (2,860 yards and 24 touchdowns) by any means, he had a career-low in completion percentage at 61 and made some bonehead plays in clutch situations, such as a critical interception late against South Carolina at home to lose.
Fromm was well-liked by Georgia fans, but the relationship was definitely love-hate. Many believed that Kirby Smart made the wrong choice by starting Fromm over Justin Fields in 2018.
So with his departure, Georgia is left without a starting quarterback in 2020. Stetson Bennett was the backup this season and attempted just 27 passes and D’Wan Mathis was a four-star freshman who redshirted. The Bulldogs also bring in Carson Beck, the No. 16 pocket passer in the nation. But the perfect replacement for 2020’s starting job won’t be any of these guys.
There are rumors circulating that Wake Forest’s Jamie Newman is expected to choose Georgia over a list of potential suitors that also includes Oregon as a top contender.
It’s not a done deal until it’s announced, but I have been hearing for more than 24 hours that Jamie Newman and Georgia are a likely match and have heard nothing yet to change that. https://t.co/BOsjzCoLO3
— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) January 9, 2020
Newman would be a perfect replacement for Fromm, especially since he could provide another element to the Georgia offense that wasn’t there in 2019: a quarterback who can burn you with his legs just as much as he can with his arm. Defenses will have to account for his ability to tuck and pick up positive yardage while also escaping pressure which could open up the pass game.
He’s no slouch through the air, either. He had 2,868 yards and 26 touchdowns with 11 interceptions in 2019 and was missing his star receiver for a good portion of that. He had a breakout season and showed off a rocket for an arm.
Accuracy may be his only weakness right now, but that can be worked on by Smart and his offensive staff — he still completed 61 percent of his passes.
If the Georgia offense wants to build off of 2019 and even have a better 2020 campaign despite losing Fromm and D’Andre Swift, Newman is the perfect addition.