The face of the franchise wore its traditional older man’s stubble and the streaks of tired eye black, war paint after the battle.
The face of the franchise never once betrayed the frustration of losing a national-championship game in overtime, one that had given him a good dozen reasons to win. Instead, the face set itself in an expression of open determination, leaving no question that he would get through every postgame interview by spreading the right message in the aftermath of such a wrong loss. Get used to it. That’s Jake Fromm. He’ll be front and center for the Georgia Bulldogs for awhile.
It had been quite a night Monday for Georgia’s offensive leader. He had come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the model for what a freshman quarterback should be, only to find out that Alabama had one of those, too.
Of Tua Tagovailoa, the Crimson Tide’s freshman who ambushed Georgia in the second half of Alabama’s 26-23 victory, Fromm said: “That’s awesome for him to come in and play the way he did. Obviously, I wish we would have played a little better, but Tua played great, and I’m proud of him.” See, never a verbal misstep (the two of them had become friends on the hotshot high schooler circuit).
At the beginning, Georgia had leaned heavily on Fromm to set the tone for a national-championship game. His 23 first-half pass attempts nearly matched his game-high (29) for the season. And it was good. The Bulldogs led 13-0.
One of his five completions in the second half was an 80-yard touchdown to Mecole Hardman, his longest completion of the season.
But Fromm fell considerably short of perfect, reminding all that he is not the finished product. He threw two interceptions, one of them clanging off the helmet of an Alabama lineman who had been spun around in the chaos in front of him. He was but 1-of-3 in the fourth quarter and took a bad sack in overtime, to be bailed out by Bulldogs kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.
And that’s where the messaging comes in.
While taking every opportunity to praise Georgia’s departing seniors, Fromm spun that forward as a challenge to those players returning. “My job is to go to work and continue to push that standard (set by the senior class). To thank them for all they’ve done and hopefully we keep that standard,” he said.
He kept talking about standards, employing that word as routinely as a cadence count. “Tonight shows what Georgia football is all about, where we can be and where we can go,” he said. “It definitely sets the standard.”
He spoke about the need to step up and set the example once he becomes a wizened sophomore. “The locker room is definitely going to change. The seniors have done such a great job, I hope to go back to work and definitely take on more of a leadership role. To push and help guys out and hopefully be back (to the playoffs) next year.
“Obviously, nobody in this locker room wants to feel the way they do right now ever again. That’s plenty of motivation for going back to work and trying to get back next year and being on the top side (of the result).”
And, most important, Fromm put a face to the only way the Bulldogs can process the gut-wrenching loss Monday night if they hope to move forward.
Asked how long it would take him to recover from the emotional whiplash of Monday night, Fromm said, “For myself, probably not too long. For others, who knows? At the end of the day we’ll take it as it comes and get ready to go back to work.
“I play football to have fun and glorify my God. I got to trust his plan. I don’t think it will take too long (to overcome).”
At least Fromm won the postgame.
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