Georgia football: It’s JT Daniels’ time to shine with Jamie Newman opting out

JT Daniels must lead Georgia football this fall without Jamie Newman.

With Jamie Newman opting out, it is JT Daniels‘ time to lead the Georgia football team.

Newman shockingly opted out on Wednesday afternoon. The graduate transfer from the Wake Forest Demon Deacons was slated to be Georgia’s Week 1 starter vs. the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sept. 26. However, Newman will forego his final year of eligibility and enter the 2021 NFL Draft, leaving the former USC Trojans starting quarterback Daniels as the new face of Georgia football.

JT Daniels has no choice but to make the most of his new opportunity.

It was strange to see Daniels transfer from USC to Georgia this offseason. Though he lost his starting job to Kedon Slovis due to injury last year, everybody knew Newman was the guy to replace Jake Fromm at Georgia until he wasn’t. Even though he’s not fully cleared to take hits at practice just yet, Daniels has done enough to be in the driver’s seat for the Georgia starting job.

With Newman opting out, we should expect Daniels to be named the starter at some point with veteran Stetson Bennett IV serving as his backup. Bennett played some backing up Fromm last year in his first year back with the program after briefly going the junior college route. Frankly, Georgia can still beat Arkansas with Bennett at quarterback if Daniels needs another week.

It’s been nothing but weird in the Georgia quarterback room. Newman transfers in January and Daniels followed a few months later. Daniels was granted immediate eligibility, despite not graduating from the University of Southern California. Newman and Daniels compete for the starting job. While Newman opts out for COVID-19 reasons, we can’t believe Daniels is the starter.

As a true freshman with the 2018 Trojans, Daniels completed 59.5 percent of his passes for 2,672 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He had the tall task of replacing Sam Darnold at USC and played well right away. Before tearing his ACL in Week 1 vs. the Fresno State Bulldogs last year, Daniels completed 73.5 percent of his passes for 215 yards, a touchdown and a pick.

As a former five-star recruit out of national powerhouse Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, the pro-style passer has the talent to star in Todd Monken’s pro-style offense. Though Daniels may not be as mobile as Newman, he was infinitely the more high-profile prospect coming out of high school. To win the job at this time has to be a testament to that, even with the opt-out.

With Newman closing the door on Georgia, a great opportunity presents itself for Daniels at UGA.

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