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Even after setbacks, confidence is still high for JT Daniels
As he begins his first fall camp as a Georgia Bulldog though, not all that much is learnt about his on-field talents. Defensive backs Richard LeCounte and Eric Stokes couldnt actually speak with what he brings to the offense on the account of not seeing his video game all that much. Because he invested the last two seasons at USC, part of that is. Due to the fact that he arrived at Georgia in May and has actually just gone through group walkthroughs and exercises, the other is.
JT Daniels is not the safe bet he at first went into college football as when he was a 5-star possibility in the 2018 recruiting cycle. At that point in time, he was billed as the next fantastic Southern Cal quarterback from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., following in the footsteps of Matt Barkley and Matt Lienart.
They acknowledge his skill, as head coach Kirby Smart has made it an indicate bring in talented players who can assist Georgia win now.
Right now, Daniels still isnt totally cleared for contact as Georgia starts fall practice on Monday
” J.T. Daniels is not cleared. J.T. Daniels is coming off ACL surgery also,” Smart stated. “Hes had the ability to take some reps. Hes been able to toss the ball and do some things, however hes not entirely cleared from the knee yet.”
Related: Georgia football injury report: Kirby Smart says Dominick Blaylock, JT Daniels not completely cleared
” All of those things are going to be utilized to evaluate who provides us the very best chance to win.”
Smart laid out a plan for how among those five, Daniels consisted of, might win the starting quarterback task.
The knee Smart references is the very same one he tore in his opening video game of the 2019 season. By the time of Georgias very first video game on Sept. 26, it will have been over a full year from when that injury took place. A complete year after Daniels, for a second time, was called the starting quarterback for the season-opener.
” Those guys are going to be evaluated and assessed every day on how the command the huddle,” Smart said. Are they making the ideal check, are they making the right decisions?
Daniels will be intending to do that once again this coming fall, though his competitors figures to be stiffer. Hes not the only transfer quarterback Georgia generated, as the Bulldogs also have Jamie Newman, who got to Georgia over four months prior to Daniels did. Theres also Carson Beck, DWan Mathis and Stetson Bennett to compete with.
Related: Kirby Smart: Georgia quarterback competition part of the procedure for offense
Even after the preliminary contact, not even Georgia absolutely knew what it would be getting with Daniels, particularly when considering its own quarterback space.
But Smart understood he desired to include Daniels. Therefore he did, as Daniels revealed he was transferring in May.
” Im a huge follower in getting the very best individuals on the team that you can get. And you have a competition,” Smart stated. “Iron hones iron which room is going to be truly competitive and were thrilled to see where it goes. ”
The next year, Daniels tore his ACL in the season-opener against Fresno State. Daniels tossed simply 14 in his freshman campaign.
Daniels, along with Newman, has started double-digit games as a starting quarterback at the Power 5 level. The USC transfer started 11 video games as a real freshman, including the Trojans season-opener that year. In that video game, after coming to USC over the summertime instead of a mid-year enrollee, Daniels finished 21 of his 35 pass efforts for 282 lawns and a touchdown.
Daniels isnt the slam-dunk, 5-star prospect he once was. A losing record and a surgically repaired knee will definitely cast doubt about ones abilities. Include how Newman has been hyped up this offseason and Daniels isnt even considered the favorite to win the beginning quarterback task.
Daniels will have a chance to re-introduce himself to the college football world. And hell get a possibility to let his teammates understand simply how excellent of a gamer he is over those 40 days.
” JT strikes me as a man whose truly positive. Hes truly confident in his arm and what he can do and how he can control an offense,” Jamaree Salyer stated of his teammate. “He carries himself a specific method, which as an offensive lineman you can certainly appreciate.”
Georgia does not understand who its beginning quarterback is at this point in time. It does not require to. Its got the next 25 practices to figure that out.
” Im prepared for him, much like everybody else to go out there and show what they got,” LeCounte stated. “The camp is for you to prove what kind of gamer you are. Its going to be a great deal of competitors. Theres a lot of people out there trying to make a name on their own and this is the location to do it here at camp, the first day. ”
” We communicated for a while, not understanding which direction we would be headed,” Smart said. “Once COVID started we didnt understand what was going on. We didnt know what we d have in our quarterback room. We didnt understand if we were going to have two guys be here and stay and be or if someone was going to leave.”
Daniels, in addition to Newman, Mathis, Beck and Bennett, will have 25 practices over the 40 days in between Monday and the very first game on Sept. 26. Two times prior to Daneils won the beginning quarterback task at one of the leading schools in the country. That probably explains a few of his confidence that colleagues have actually noticed.
In April of this year, Daniels made the move to go into the transfer website. Thats where Georgia, who didnt have much contact with him throughout his preliminary recruiting procedure as it had actually signed Justin Fields in the very same 2018 recruiting cycle, got involved.
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J.T. Daniels is coming off ACL surgery as well,” Smart stated. A complete year after Daniels, for a 2nd time, was named the beginning quarterback for the season-opener.
Hes not the only transfer quarterback Georgia brought in, as the Bulldogs also have Jamie Newman, who got to Georgia over four months before Daniels did. Daniels, along with Newman, has started double-digit games as a starting quarterback at the Power 5 level. Include in how Newman has actually been hyped up this offseason and Daniels isnt even considered the preferred to win the starting quarterback job.
