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Kirby Smart gets chance to show what he learned from the Jake Fromm-Justin Fields quarterback compet

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Kirby Smart gets chance to show what he learned from the Jake Fromm-Justin Fields quarterback competition

Welcome to Good Day, UGA, your one-stop shop for Georgia football news and takes. Check us out every weekday morning for everything you need to know about Georgia football, recruiting, basketball and more. With JT Daniels eligible, Kirby Smart faces another tough quarterback decision It's now safe to say that Justin

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reddawg1

Everyone knows(knew) Justin Fields was the better athlete by all the measurable(tangibles) such as running ability, and arm strength. What CKS didn't see or didn't want to see(perhaps ) was a QB controversy. Jake had just stretched BAMA to overtime in the Championship. So, does CKS a few months later pull the plug on Jake and insert a new QB who doesn't know the system as well as Jake, who isn't the coach at the line of scrimmage that Jake is, and is an unknown commodity to some degree?

Tough call. I guess we can all look back in time and say, "I' would have gone with the unkown after having just been to the NC game. You can say it, doesn't mean I believe it.

traildawg51

reddawg, I tend to agree with you. What I would have liked to see is Fields given increasing opportunities during the year to demonstrate his skill set in a meaningful way. I don't think he was ever given the opportunity to show what he could really do in a real game situation. That is just my opinion. I love having Coach Smart and I would not swap him as our head coach with anybody. I just wish Fields had been given meaningful game time with plays that fit his considerable skill set. Maybe that was an Offensive Coordinator issue more than a head coach. I just don't know, but I would have loved to see Fields as our QB1 last year and this year.

tommielee

A whole lot of woulda, coulda , shoulda, in hindsight Connor Riley. Would you please explain how you, the best Armchair HC ever would have handled this. How do you replace the QB with another, who not only helped the Dawgs win the most exciting Rose Bowl Game in history in a classic comeback, and without a complete defensive breakdown on a 2-26 pass for a TD by Tua, might have also won the National Title Game? Fields had the better STATS this past season, but he also had the better players to surround himself, with on offense. Whether by coaching or lack of effort, or talent the Dawgs just didn't seem very hungry last season on offense. Case in point the South Carolina game., and the Monsoon game against Kentucky. One was a loss to a less talented team, and the other was also on the brink all game long of being another loss.

JoeFann

In hindsight, maybe the biggest "mistake" was that Kirby never had a defined plan to develop Fields on the field. He never got enough extended game snaps to get in a rhythm and feel like the game was his. The second biggest was in recognizing too slowly that the offense was not diverse enough to exploit all of the playmakers. More and more, 2017 is looking like a true opportunity lost. Maybe Smart thought that coming off that NCG loss the 2018 team would respond. But the offense was never retooled to best utilize the talent. 2019 finally confirmed it. Depending on practice reps and how both look, let's hope there is a plan this year, that it's clear to both QBs and that it's adhered to. In fact, let's hope there is a "this year" while we're at it. Go Dawgs!

kirkhilles

I dunno. At least "on the field", Smart definitely gave Fields a chance. He played in 12 games as a true freshman. Fields was the one who turned everything into a mess. I think Fields realized that he made a mistake and chose incorrectly and he did.

The more accurate comparison would be Eason who gave us a shot and we gave him a shot and we, as UGA fans, wish him the best legimitately. Should we have kept him on? Eh. I mean, he did a bit better at Washington, but then again they aren't SEC. He got drafted in the 4th round, so... yeah.

Only time will tell how this is going to work out with all of these guys. I wish we had been able to play the G Day game and seen some plays.

David1

With Coley as OC, I don’t think you can claim Fields would have been better and put up those numbers. This is an apple to orange comparison.

BassDawg

I think the big issue for Kirby is he has the number one defense and if he is going to win a natty now is the time. He needs to figure out which one will do that now and then build future with the other.

unknown

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EvilSamPittman

it was obvious early on in those practices that Justin Fields was much better than Jake Fromm. Kirby just didn't have the courage to tell the good ol' boys boosters to stick it and play the best QB. It's a shame - UGA defense last year w/ Fields as an all-out weapon on offense could have won the Natty. Fields is better than Newman, Daniels, Beck and Vandagriff. Watched this kid dominate for two years before he set foot on college campus. Fields is special.

1SICemDAWGS1

https://forum.dawgnation.com/discussion/comment/444299#Comment_444299

That leaves out Newman to build a future on, he only has 1 year of eligibility left, JT Daniels has 3, plus Carson Beck, Stetson Bennett, and another incoming 5* QB in Brock Vandagriff will create even more competition among the QB's..GoDAWGS!

Lowcountry

What Kirby should have done was give John Rhys Plumlee a full scholarship. Did y'all see what he did to LSU last year?

As for the current QB candidates at UGA, I think that if anyone other than Newman is named the starter there will be accusations of racism from parts of the fanbase. I don't think that's something that this program needs hanging over its head. I'm hoping to see this offense led by a QB who has the ability to tuck and run.

Kasey

https://forum.dawgnation.com/discussion/comment/444309#Comment_444309

I heard stetson was actually playing better than Fields in spring ball

reddawg1

Ah, the race card gets played. If they even play, I personally can't see CKS playing the 2nd best QB because he is white . For anyone else to even insinuate he would is ludicrous. Especially since they recruited Newman and that 80 percent of the team is black. Laughable.

RealityBasedDawgFan

I just wonder does Jamie Newman stick around for another year in the event there is no season, which is looking more and more like the outcome unfortunately.

BubbaBill

Jake Fromm was the better choice as a starter and I totally disagree with the first sentence of this article. Numerous “sources” have told me (I got that quote from The NY Times 😉) that Fields had a real attitude problem.....unlike Fromm. Yes indeed, Fields had a much better year, but how would he have performed at UGa with 5 starters (WRs) graduating, another kicked off the team, multiple injuries, etc, etc, etc. I sincerely believe Fields would have done no better than Fromm this year. Yes, he may have beaten SC, but he likely would have lost to Florida and definitely to LSU.....but then he wouldn’t have played LSU due to the Florida loss. I’m not sure how he would have performed against Baylor. I also believe that Fromm would have won the NC at Ohio State and not choke on the last play like Fields did. People seem to forget that Field’s last play at UGa was a totally botched fake punt that would have worked if he hadn’t panicked (ie choked)....and his last play at Ohio State last year in the playoffs was an interception. That’s 2 NC opportunities lost thanks to Fields incompetence under pressure. I’m not saying Fields isn’t more talented, but I am saying he wouldn’t have done better than Fromm under similar circumstances. Go Dawgs!!!