Georgian football quarterback JT Daniels still ‘really confident’ even after setbacks

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Even after setbacks, confidence is still high for JT Daniels

JT Daniels isn’t sure he entered college football initially, like when he was a 5-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting cycle. At that point, he was billed as the next big quarterback. Southern Cal rear of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., following in the footsteps of Matt Barkley and Matt Lienart.

As he begins his first fall camp as a Georgia Bulldog, not much is known about his talents in the field. Defensive backs Richard LeCounte and Eric Stokes couldn’t really talk about what he brings to the offense as they didn’t see much of his game. Part of that was because he spent the last two seasons at the USC. The other is that he arrived in Georgia in May and only did team visits and training.

They recognize his talent, as head coach Kirby Smart has made a point of recruiting talented players who can help Georgia win now.

Although at the moment Daniels is still not fully cleared to make contact as Georgia begins training in the fall on Monday

“JT Daniels is not yet licensed. JT Daniels is also coming out of ACL surgery, ”said Smart. “He was able to take a few rehearsals. He’s been able to throw the ball and do some things, but he’s not yet completely clear of the knee.

Related: Georgia Football Injury Report: Kirby Smart Says Dominick Blaylock, JT Daniels Not Completely Erased

The Smart References knee is the same it tore in their 2019 season opener. By the time of Georgia’s opener on September 26, it will have taken over a year since this injury has occurred. A year after Daniels, for the second time, was named starting quarterback for the season opener.

Daniels will aim to do it again this fall, although his competition appears to be stiffer. He’s not the only transfer quarterback Georgia brought in, as the Bulldogs also have Jamie Newman, who arrived in Georgia more than four months before Daniels. There’s also Carson Beck, D’Wan Mathis, and Stetson Bennett to compete.

Smart laid out a plan for how one of those five, Daniels included, could win the starting quarterback position.

“These guys are going to be judged and evaluated every day for how well they command the clique,” ​​said Smart. “How do they react when they throw an interception?” What do they do when they do a bust? Are they writing the right check, making the right decisions? Can they use their feet to extend the games?

“All of these things are going to be used to judge who gives us the best chance of winning.”

Related: Kirby Smart: Georgia quarterback competition ‘part of the process’ for offense

Daniels, along with Newman, started double-digit games as a starting quarterback at Power 5 level. The USC transfer started 11 games as a true rookie, including the opening of the Trojans season this year. that year. In that game, after arriving at USC over the summer, as opposed to a mid-year entry, Daniels completed 21 of his 35 attempted passes for 282 yards and a touchdown.

But it seems that since those early days, nothing has gone as planned. The Trojans have gone 5-7 in this opening season. The following year, Daniels tore up his ACL in the season opener against Fresno State. After that, freshman Kedon Slovis flourished as a rookie, making 30 touchdowns. Daniels threw just 14 in his freshman campaign.

In April of this year, Daniels decided to enter the transfer portal. This is where Georgia, who didn’t have much contact with him during their initial recruiting process as they signed Justin Fields in the same 2018 recruiting cycle, got involved.

But even after the initial contact, even Georgia wasn’t fully sure what they would get with Daniels, especially considering their own quarterback room.

“We communicated for a while, not knowing which direction we were going to go,” Smart said. “Once COVID started, we didn’t know what was going on. We didn’t know what we would have in our quarterback room. We weren’t sure if we were going to have two guys here and stay and be or if someone was going to leave.

But Smart knew he wanted to add Daniels. And that’s what he did, as Daniels announced his transfer in May.

“I firmly believe in recruiting the best people you can have on the team. And you have a competition, ”Smart said. “Iron sharpens iron and this room will be really competitive and we’re excited to see where that goes. “

Daniels, along with Newman, Mathis, Beck and Bennett, will have 25 practices in the 40 days between Monday and the first game on September 26. Twice before Daneils won the starting quarterback position at one of the best schools in the country. This probably explains some of his confidence that his teammates have noticed.

“JT seems like a really confident guy to me. He really has confidence in his arm and what he can do and how he can control an attack, ”Jamaree Salyer said of his teammate. “He’s doing a certain way, which you can certainly respect as an offensive lineman.

Daniels is not the slam-dunk, 5-star hope he once was. A losing case and a surgically repaired knee will certainly cast doubt on his abilities. Add in how excited Newman has been this offseason and Daniels isn’t even considered the favorite to win the starting quarterback position.

Georgia don’t know who their starting quarterback is yet. He doesn’t need it. He has the next 25 practices to figure this out.

Daniels will have the opportunity to reintroduce himself into the world of college football. And he will have the opportunity to let his teammates know how good he is to play during those 40 days.

“I’m ready for him, just like everyone else, to go and show what they’ve got,” LeCounte said. “The camp is for you to prove what kind of player you are. It’s going to be a lot of competition. There are a lot of guys trying to make a name for themselves and this is the place to do it here at camp on day one. “

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