ATHENS — Remember last spring how excited everybody was about getting to see how Georgia’s offense would look under quarterback JT Daniels?
Nobody remembers because it didn’t happen.
The focus was squarely on graduate transfer Jamie Newman and what new offensive coordinator Todd Monken might do to accentuate the skills of the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder from Wake Forest. Daniels wasn’t even on the Bulldogs’ radar at the time. Still a sophomore at Southern Cal, he wouldn’t enter his name in the transfer portal until April 16.
“We didn’t even know who J.T. Daniels was,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart admitted.
Newman, of course, opted out of the season 24 days before the opener. And now Daniels is the Bulldogs’ undisputed starting quarterback heading into the second week of spring work. With a myriad talented skill players to work with, Smart said the entire offense is “lightyears” ahead of where it was last season.
“We’re a lot different offensively,” he said. “They’re doing things they didn’t do until maybe halfway through the season last year. … It’s pretty unique to have that much experience on offense. It’s shown.”
Between the firepower of the offense and the immaturity of defense, Georgia’s offense has dominated the 11-on-11 work so far. That was accentuated again this past Saturday in the first full-pads practice of the spring.
The Bulldogs will return to Woodruff Practice Fields for the fourth of their 15 allotted spring practices Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Georgia is just getting to know Daniels well as a player. He didn’t settle on UGA as his transfer destination until late May, and then he didn’t enroll until almost mid-June. In addition to being saddled with medical limitations due to his recovery from knee surgery, the Bulldogs’ were further limited by the initial COVID-19 meeting and practice protocols.
So what have they learned now that Daniels has been in a team leadership position for five months?
“J.T. is a really good leader,” Smart said. “… You know, he never got a chance to really get to know these guys. I mean, he showed up and we are in COVID, then he wasn’t playing, then he was playing, and then the year was over. So, he is just now kind of embracing the relationship with those guys.”
Georgia did not lose after Daniels took over as the starter with four games remaining in the season. He completed 67% of his passes for 308 yards a game with 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
What should be truly exciting for Georgia fans is the growing bond between Daniels and the Bulldogs’ talented receiver corps. Smart said what we saw last year was only a sneak preview of their capabilities.
“Last year, we weren’t able to be very mobile,” Smart said, meaning positionally diverse. “(Freshman) Jermaine Burton learned one position; now we’re trying to get Jermaine to learn both sides. He was the ‘Z’ last year, he needs to be the ‘Z’ and the ‘X.’ There are just so many little things that they’re so much further ahead as far as knowledge.”
What a difference a year makes.
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