JT Daniels’ response after first Georgia start will delight Dawgs fans
A really stout performance from Georgia redshirt sophomore quarterback and former USC transfer JT Daniels pushed the Dawgs over the top this weekend.
The Georgia Bulldogs haven’t gotten off to the strongest starts so far this season. In their Nov. 21 matchup against head coach Mike Leach and the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Georgia was behind early, but made up ground in the second half. A lot of that was due to the breakthrough performance of the former USC Trojans transfer quarterback and redshirt sophomore JT Daniels.
In his Georgia debut, Daniels went off for a career-best performance in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completion percentage, and passer efficiency rating. Daniels registered 28 completions on 38 passing attempts, good for 401 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, no interceptions, and no rushing touchdowns.
That’s a completion percentage of 73.7, a sparkling 197.1 passer efficiency rating, and 12.7 adjusted yards per passing attempt. The effort on the night from Daniels pushed Georgia over the top, avoiding an upset in the process.
🐶
— JT Daniels (@jtdaniels06) November 22, 2020
Following the win over Mississippi State, Daniels tweeted an emoji of a dog, delighting the Georgia fan base in the process. Daniels was huge for the Dawgs, and a boost of production and efficiency from the quarterback position is exactly what head coach Kirby Smart needed at this point of the season.
What JT Daniels means for Georgia moving forward
Georgia had tried their hand with the likes of Stetson Bennett (eight passing touchdowns, six interceptions) and D’Wan Mathis (one passing touchdowns, three interceptions) prior to Daniels getting the start this weekend. And this former USC transfer looks to be a great fit for the Georgia offense.
Two wide receivers in particular were big benefactors of this breakthrough performance from Daniels in freshman Jermaine Burton (197 receiving yards and two scores) and sophomore George Pickens (87 receiving yards and one score).
If the Dawgs are set to get this sort of play out of Daniels moving forward, they could still make some noise down the stretch this season. They would need the Florida Gators to slip up at least once, but they do still have a shot at the SEC Championship Game.
Remaining on the schedule for Daniels and the Dawgs are the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road and the Vanderbilt Commodores at home, and then the Mizzou Tigers after having their game delayed from a few weeks ago. Those are obviously three very winnable games for the Dawgs.
Georgia now carries a record of 5-2 (5-2 SEC), with their two losses coming at the hands of Florida and the Alabama Crimson Tide. They hold the No. 13 spot in this week’s AP Poll.
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