ATHENS — JT Daniels and Todd Monken talk about their relationship like a courtship. It was based on looks and expectations in the beginning, but it’s growing into something more meaningful and just starting to flourish.
The only question now is how long it will last.
Georgia’s quarterback and offensive coordinator were both a little wishy-washy about the latter part. There were no definitive declarations that Daniels definitely will be back as the Bulldogs’ signal-caller next year, or Monken as play-caller, for that matter.
But there also seems to be a genuine sense of mutual admiration and excitement about what could be if they choose to stay together.
“Right away when we met, there was a connection there in terms of what we were looking for and what he was looking for moving forward,” Monken said during a Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl news conference Tuesday. “I think that was a really good start. You don’t know anybody when you’re in the courtship stage.”
Said Daniels: “Obviously, we speak the same language, especially in terms of football. It’s something that I learned more about as the season goes on. But even when I wasn’t playing, I was still on the sideline with coach Buster (Faulkner) during the games. I was hearing all the play calls and started learning more and more how he thinks. … I think it’s just grown and developed.”
Georgia’s offensive numbers validate that growth. There is no shortage of breakdowns and data points for describing how much better – and more explosive – is the Bulldogs’ offense since Daniels took over as quarterback. But the only ones that really matter are:
- Georgia’s averaging 41.7 points in his three games, an increase of 12.7 per game;
- Georgia’s averaging 498.3 yards a game, an increase of 115.3 yards a game.
You can get bogged down all day with other “advanced” statistics. Things such as Daniels’ SEC-leading 83.3 “adjusted completion percentage,” which takes into account passes that go for first downs or touchdowns, are certainly fun to cite. And anybody who follows football closely knows how important third-down efficiency and conversion rates are. Again, Daniels has the best numbers in the league on that count, too, and by a significant margin: a 72.2% success rate, a 27.8% explosive pass rate, 84.2 completion percentage and 14.6 yards per attempt.
But all those numbers, compiled at SECstatcat.com and elsewhere, have to be provided in the context of Daniels’ small sample size of three games played and the level of competition against which he has played. It’s not a stretch to believe Daniels’ numbers would’ve gone up from there had the Bulldogs played Vanderbilt as scheduled to end the regular season.
But those grandiose numbers don’t take away the fact that Daniels was not in place to show his worth in the games that preceded the past three, against Missouri, South Carolina and Mississippi State. The Nov. 7 Florida game in Jacksonville looms particularly large.
Credit: Curtis Compton / curtis.compton@ajc.com
Credit: Curtis Compton / curtis.compton@ajc.com
While the delay in putting Daniels on the field was deliberate with respect to him continuing to rehabilitate from a serious knee injury and erring on the side of caution, Monken doesn’t hide from the notion of what might’ve been had the Bulldogs chosen to activate Daniels just a little sooner.
“When his opportunity came, he took advantage of it,” Monken said Tuesday. “Obviously, there’s a number of things -- I’ll be 55 in February -- that I will look back on and think I would have done, should have, could have, would have maybe done differently. There’s no sense in looking back on that. The moment JT played and prepared, it was time to move forward. I think he’s done a great job not only for his opportunity but then since then.”
On that, everybody involved can agree. Georgia’s offensive players are having fun again, and they really don’t want this season to end, grind though it has been to get to this point.
As it is, there is only one more game, and it comes in the Peach Bowl on Friday against a heralded Cincinnati defense that ranks No. 8 in the nation in total defense (310.8 ypg).
The Bulldogs and Daniels have the Bearcats’ full attention. Defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman said Tuesday that Georgia’s quarterback has the strongest arm of any quarterback he’s prepared for since coming to Cincinnati in 2017. That includes dates with Ohio State, Michigan, UCLA and Virginia Tech.
“JT brings a different dynamic to their offense,” Freeman said. “You can tell over the last three games.”
Cincinnati and Georgia will settle the matter of Group of Five versus Power 5 on Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But the bigger question for Bulldogs fans is how long this budding romance of quarterback and offensive coordinator might last.
A third-year sophomore, Daniels is NFL draft-eligible. There were mixed signals offered Tuesday when the discussion moved the potential for Georgia’s offense if the gang gets back together next year.
Generally, it sounds like they’re not ready break up and excited to find out where the relationship goes from here.
“We’ve evolved and it’s been good, and I think we’re only going to get better and get on the same page more and more as we go through the offseason in 2021,” said Monken, who made his return to the college game from the NFL in late January.
Said Daniels: “There is a lot — a lot! — of talent on the roster. There’s guys that fans haven’t really even seen yet. People have seen Arian Smith make one catch. Jermaine (Burton) has grown a lot. You have a whole group of young linemen who work together every day. … We’ve got a really young class of guys that aren’t just talented, but they enjoy the game of football and show up every day with a good attitude. As they grow, you’ll see a lot of them next year.”
Daniels doesn’t sound like a quarterback who’s itching to make another big move. He described Tuesday what this past year has been like for him, deciding in April to leave USC, being courted by schools via Zoom, making a transcontinental flight in June from Los Angeles to Atlanta, then driving to across a state that he’d never set foot in before to reach a campus he’d never seen.
Daniels said he hasn’t been home to Irvine since, even spending Thanksgiving and Christmas in Athens.
But when pressed on the pro question, Daniels kept his options open.
“It’s not something I’ve honestly given too much thought to,” Daniels said. “This year is going by fast. I’m focused week-to-week. … This week is Cincinnati. Once the offseason comes, I’ll be thinking about the offseason.”
Where Georgia’s offense is concerned, they’d just as soon this season not end. Though they’ve been in various stages of stops and starts since, for them it feels like things are just beginning. It’s an extremely young group, with nary a senior on the two-deep now that Ben Cleveland and Tre’ McKitty have opted out of the bowl.
“I do feel like we’ve been hot as of lately,” Daniels said. “I think a lot of guys have matured tremendously, from George Pickens to Jermaine to big Warren (Ericson) on the line, there’s a lot of guys that have gotten a lot better. I’d love to play with this team forever.”
At least a year longer would be a great start. Even Daniels’ teammates feel like they’re just getting to know him.
Junior offensive tackle Jamaree Salyer shared something he learned about the young quarterback. With Daniels slow to return from the injured ranks, Salyer and others understandably questioned just how tough this kid from California might be. Then came the Mississippi State game, and Daniels found himself with nowhere to go against an all-out blitz.
“He got hit hard, really hard,” Salyer said. “I’m thinking, ‘Wow, this kid just took his first big hit. How’s he gonna react? Is he gonna lay on the ground? Is he going to be broken?’ He came in the huddle and said, ‘Hit me again! That wasn’t hard enough,’ and laughed. I think he threw a touchdown on the next play, too.”
Indeed, it feels like a relationship that’s just starting to bud. How much it might bloom is only speculation. The Bulldogs are eager to find out.
