JT Daniels or D’Wan Mathis? Georgia’s SEC title hopes fall squarely on the quarterback

Georgia football needs D’Wan Mathis or JT Daniels to have a big year to win the SEC.

Georgia football can win a national title, but that dream hinges entirely on quarterback play.

The Georgia Bulldogs thought they had that answer solved when they landed graduate transfer Jamie Newman over from Wake Forest University. Kirby Smart and his staff believed they were getting some combination of Jalen Hurts and Cam Newton in Newman. Unfortunately, Newman opted out of the 2020 college season to declare for the 2021 NFL Draft a few weeks ago.

If Georgia football fails this year, it’ll be because of quarterback play.

In the last three years, Georgia has been a top-five program in the nation. The Dawgs have recruited at a top-five level and have won at a top-five level. Georgia played for the national title in 2017, winning the SEC East the last three seasons and doing no worse than losing a Sugar Bowl to the Texas Longhorns. Though Jake Fromm was good, the passing game was never dominant.

Along with a few boneheaded coaching decisions by Smart, Georgia remains 40 years removed from winning its second and most recent national title. If all goes right for the Dawgs this year, they can be one of about eight teams who can realistically win the whole shebang. The defense will be outstanding, the coaching will be sound, but will the quarterback play be satisfactory?

Now with Newman out of the picture, it’s coming down to either redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis or former USC Trojans starter in redshirt sophomore JT Daniels. Though Smart hasn’t formally announced who will start in the Dawgs’ SEC opener at the Arkansas Razorbacks, it just might be Mathis, who has already overcome so much in his young football career.

The Oak Park, Michigan native was a four-star recruit coming out of high school in the 2019 recruiting class. He missed all of last season due to having surgery to remove a cyst from his brain. Shockingly seemingly everyone in Dawg Nation, he has really come on this offseason, perhaps as a catalyst for Newman to possibly opt out beyond coronavirus concerns.

Billed as the next Feleipe Franks from a dual-threat play-making standpoint, fate would have it Mathis could make his first college start against Franks, who now plays for Sam Pittman at Arkansas. But for as much as Mathis has reportedly crushed it in fall camp, the big key here with the Georgia quarterback room is when Daniels will be medically cleared to play this season.

Daniels graduated super early from California high school power Mater Dei in Santa Ana to enroll at traditional West Coast power USC. He replaced Sam Darnold as the Trojan’s quarterback in 2018, playing well for a mediocre Clay Helton. However, a torn ACL in the 2019 season opener vs. Fresno State culminated in Kedon Slovis winning the USC job and initiating Daniels to transfer.

The other big factor here is the Dawgs will be running a modern pro-style offense under former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken running the show. It will be a much-appreciated departure from the antiquated schemes that have plagued the Dawgs’ passing game since former offensive coordinator Mike Bobo left to be the Colorado State Rams coach years ago.

Though it really doesn’t matter who starts for the Dawgs vs. the Hogs on Saturday, as Pittman and Franks don’t have enough talent on the gridiron to contend with a title-contending team in Georgia, it absolutely matters who plays under center in the Dawgs’ home opener vs. the rival Auburn Tigers in two weeks.

Unlike rebuilding Arkansas, Auburn is one of about 16 or so teams who can make the College Football Playoff this year. They have talent everywhere, especially with their legacy quarterback Bo Nix, who certainly turned heads winning the Iron Bowl last year as a true freshman. Georgia hasn’t lost at home to Auburn since the Second Bush Administration, so keep that streak alive.

In their 10-game SEC season, Georgia has a few tough matchups outside of Auburn, including at the Alabama Crimson Tide and vs. the rival Florida Gators down in Jacksonville. For Georgia to get to Atlanta, the Dawgs need to go 2-1 in those three games, and probably beat Florida for the fourth year in a row. This is why quarterback play is so important for them. It will be the difference.

Whether it’s Mathis or Daniels, Smart, Monken and Georgia have to make the right decision here.

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