Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm has thrown for 54 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions through his first two seasons, which helped result in Jacob Eason and Justin Fields leaving the program to seek better opportunities for playing time.
Georgia quarterback Justin Fields exits Sanford Stadium after the conclusion of the Bulldogs' game against Austin Peay on Sept. 1.
Quarterback Jacob Eason left the Georgia Bulldogs after two seasons and is now at Washington.In his two seasons at Georgia, quarterback Jake Fromm has guided the Bulldogs to 24 wins and berths in the Rose and Sugar bowls, and he has ranked among the nation's top 10 in passing efficiency both years.
Fromm has also run off 10 stars.
Two five-star quarterbacks have departed as a result of Fromm's stranglehold on the position, with Justin Fields announcing Friday night on Twitter that he was transferring to Ohio State after just one season in Athens. The Fields departure comes nearly a year after Jacob Eason announced he was leaving Georgia after two seasons and promptly transferred to Washington.
Fields was the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback nationally in the 2018 signing class. Eason was the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the 2016 class.
"It's not like a 'Hey, high-five to me' moment," Fromm said at a news conference last weekend in New Orleans. "I want the best for both of those guys. I wish for both of those guys to have extreme success in their careers and that they can go out and play a lot of football."
Eason started as a freshman, when the Bulldogs went 8-5 in Kirby Smart's debut season as head coach, and he started the 2017 opener against Appalachian State. He sprained a knee midway through the first quarter on a late hit by the Mountaineers, opening a door for Fromm that has yet to close.
Fromm showed tremendous poise for a true freshman in guiding Georgia to its first Southeastern Conference championship in 12 seasons and nearly helped the Bulldogs claim their first national championship since 1980. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound former four-star prospect from Warner Robins finished ninth in efficiency as a freshman with a 160.1 rating and was even better this season as a sophomore, winding up at 171.3.
Despite arriving with plenty of fanfare, Fields was relegated to the role of a typical backup, collecting most of his stats during blowouts of Austin Peay, Middle Tennessee State and Massachusetts. Fields submitted his name into the NCAA transfer portal last month, allowing other schools to contact him, and he did not play in Tuesday night's 28-21 Sugar Bowl loss to Texas.
"It's not for me to want to try and make anybody leave or anything like that," Fromm said. "I want the best for both of those guys."
Eason had to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules, and Fields will have to do the same later this year at Ohio State barring an attempt to appeal. Fields was spotted Saturday at Ohio State's men's basketball game against visiting Michigan State, where he was seated between former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer and redshirt sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins.
Fromm has completed 387 of 597 passes (64.8 percent) for 5,364 yards with 54 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions through two seasons, and he will enter spring practice in a brand new world. For the first time since arriving in January 2017, he is the starter without any hint of a legitimate competition.
Georgia's backup quarterbacks this spring will be true freshman Dwan Mathis and former walk-on Stetson Bennett, who played this season at Jones County (Mississippi) Junior College.
"I think it will be an opportunity for me to go in and lead," Fromm said. "It will be an opportunity to try and take this team to a whole other level."
Blankenship staying
Bulldogs redshirt junior kicker and recent graduate Rodrigo Blankenship announced Saturday night that he will return for his senior season. Blankenship made 19 of 23 field-goal attempts this season and all 65 extra-point tries.
"I'm going to keep this short and sweet," Blankenship posted on Twitter. "Dawg Nation, I'm not going anywhere."
Blankenship had 82 of his 96 kickoffs result in touchbacks, which broke the school record he set last season.
Stevenson commits
Georgia picked up a commitment Saturday from Tyrique Stevenson, who made a nonbinding pledge to the Bulldogs at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio. The 6-1, 202-pounder from the Miami suburb of Homestead is the No. 4 cornerback nationally and the No. 38 prospect overall in the 247Sports.com composite rankings.
Former Georgia commitment Jadon Haselwood, the nation's No. 1 receiver from the Atlanta suburb of Ellenwood, committed Saturday to Oklahoma.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.