ATHENS — Freshman quarterback D’Wan Mathis hasn’t had an opportunity to play much “real” football at Georgia yet, but his athleticism and arm strength have already impressed.
Bulldogs receiver J.J. Holloman, who figures to be the go-to guy this season, shared his insights on Mathis following practice earlier this week.
“He’s pretty good, he can run good, he has a great arm, he has good touch on the deep balls and things like that,” said Holloman, the leading returning receiver in a corps that lost four of the top five targets from a season ago. “He’s just learning the offense right now, but once he comes along, he’s going to be a threat.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart just wants to make sure he has a quarterback capable of running the offense in the event anything happens to third-year starter Jake Fromm.
Holloman seemed confident Mathis can handle the adjustment.
“He’s versatile, able to throw on the run,” Holloman said, “puts a good touch on it, he can throw the deep ball, everything.”
Smart said Mathis and junior college transfer Stetson Bennett would get the same amount of time working behind starter Jake Fromm.
Mathis is listed at 6-6, 205 pounds, while Bennett is 5-11, 190.
Bennett was a walk-on at Georgia two seasons ago. While more limited athletically, Bennett carries the advantage of knowing the offense better than Mathis.
Mathis, formerly an Ohio State commit, was 110-of-176 passing with 20 touchdowns last season at Oak Park (Mich.) High School. A three-year starter, Mathis passed for more than 5,000 yards and rushed for more than 2,000 yards.
Mathis didn’t flip until Georgia until late in the recruiting process, after the Buckeyes started talking with former UGA quarterback Justin Fields about transferring.
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