Buy or Sell: JT Daniels Heisman Hype
Georgia Football and the Heisman Trophy are not typically two things that coincide with each other. In fact, a Georgia player has not won the award since all-time great Herschel Walker won it in 1982.
Todd Gurley was the last Georgia player in recent memory that had the best shot at winning the award and without his suspension and injury in 2014, perhaps Gurley would have won the award. However, heading into the 2021 season, there is a lot of Heisman hype beginning to surround Georgia quarterback JT Daniels. Is the hype warranted, or should it be ignored?
According to VegasInsider.com, Daniels currently has the third-best odds to win the award behind Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler and Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, whom Daniels will face in the first game of the 2021 season.
In the past, a Georgia quarterback winning the Heisman would have never been considered due to the brand of football they played, which was to feed their superstar running backs all game long and pass the ball when needed. With Todd Monken as the offensive coordinator now and Daniels under center, that narrative no longer exists.
In the four games that Daniels started last season, there were three games in which Georgia attempted at least 28 passes, and in those three games Daniels racked up 1,104 total passing yards and eight touchdowns. To put that into perspective, Stetson Bennett played quarterback in six games last season and had 1,104 passing yards and eight touchdowns on the year.
Georgia is not only more explosive on offense with Daniels under center, but they are also more efficient. There is no question that Daniels has the skill set to bring home the Heisman, but he also has all of the weapons necessary to throw to. Darnell Washington, Jermaine Burton, Kearis Jackson and newest addition Arik Gilbert are just a few.
Although Daniels does have a very talented wide-receiver and tight-end group that he will be throwing to this season, the biggest asset is Monken. All last season, Monken was calling plays that were allowing his receivers to be wide open down the field but unfortunately those targets were consistently missed until Daniels took over and the offense began to come together and flourish.
On the contrary, there are some factors that could come into play that might possibly hurt Daniels' chances of winning the Heisman. The first one is ball security. In the past, Daniels has struggled in that area whether it was being intercepted or fumbling when trying to escape pressure.
Also, despite the fact that Georgia will pass the ball more than they have in the past, they will still give their running backs a good number of carries, especially compared to teams like Oklahoma and possibly Clemson this year who probably aren't going to run the ball as much as Georgia will this fall.
Head coach Kirby Smart's squad has high hopes this season and based on how things are shaking up this offseason, it is clear that Georgia is pushing all its chips on making a push for a national championship this season. With Daniels commanding the offense, they could also be adding a Heisman into the mix. Georgia's offense has all of the tools to make it happen; it's simply a matter of execution.
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