Making the Case: The Greatest Georgia QB of All-Time, Jake Fromm
Imagine this scenario.
It's August of 2017 and you are a die-hard Georgia Bulldog football fan. Your beloved Georgia Bulldogs are about to embark on a new season to try and wash away last year's (8-5) season. The (8-5) record was under a new head coach, after basically saying goodbye to the previous head coach that spent 15 years with the program and averaged 10 wins per season. Someone with the ability to accurately predict the future tells you that the backup quarterback will take over due to injury to the highest-rated QB prospect Georgia had ever seen in the first game.
Your heart sinks. That is until they go on to tell you that the backup quarterback will go on to start every game for the next three years before declaring early for the NFL Draft. In those three years, he'll beat Florida all three times, he'll beat Tennessee all three times, He'll beat Auburn three out of four times and one of those will be for the SEC Championship. He'll beat Georgia Tech like a drum three times and he'll have you playing for three SEC Championships and a National Title in that time span.
In that scenario, giving the history of Georgia football and the history of quarterback play at Georgia, it's highly unlikely that anybody would doubt that the status quo backup quarterback turned program cornerstone as the greatest of all time when it comes to quarterbacks at the University of Georgia. However, that is exactly what has happened.
Jake Fromm celebrates in the 2019 home defeat of Notre Dame
Many out there, even many in the Georgia Bulldog faithful, like to malign the accomplishments of Jake Fromm and seemingly only want to talk about certain things that are viewed as deficiencies. Measurables, arm strength, or a stretch of games in his junior campaign with lower than usual completion percentage are brought up. Or the beloved, "But look at all the talent around him" argument.
However, the level to which the program's achievements and expectations were raised during the Fromm years cannot be ignored. Those achievements which include dominance over rivals, championship appearances, and victories, and the creation of a national brand that everyone places UGA solidly in the playoff picture year in and year out have a lot to do with the consistency of Jake Fromm.
The true measurement of greatness is consistency.
Those words were ones that were spoken to me by my high school football coach Bob Christmas on a nearly daily basis it seemed. Coach Christmas was and still is, a very principled man. He was a man that took average high school athletes and molded them into a cog in a machine that worked with purpose and efficiency when paired with the other parts and pieces. The talent level, the size, the playmaking ability meant nothing if the culminating effort produced was not something that could be and was replicated time and again without fail.
On a much larger scale, Jake Fromm is in the same boat in terms of playing and producing about the measurables and the physical abilities.
Don't get me wrong, Jake Fromm was a genuine 5-Star coming out of Houston County. However, those stars and the acclaim that Fromm had was not due to being the biggest, fastest, or even possessing the strongest arm. It was due to a set of undeniable intangibles, paired with a football savant type intellect and an unwavering passion for the game. As his former Houston County Head Coach Von Lassiter put it, "Jake is a ballplayer. That's what God created him to be."
Von Lassiter and Jake Fromm
It was obvious that early on Jake Fromm's character, his charisma, and his desire to compete caught the attention of Kirby Smart. Originally having committed to Alabama, it was less than 3 months after Kirby took the job at Georgia that Jake Fromm flipped to the Dawgs. Smart knew that Fromm was a winner and targeted him early. It said a lot about Fromm to make that leap as well because, with the very highly touted Jacob Eason already in place as the starter, there was absolutely no guarantee of playing time and only the promise of opportunity to do what those closest to Fromm know that he loves so much, compete.
In February of 2017, two weeks after Jake Fromm's arrival on campus at Georgia. His consistency and his character were already making indelible impressions on Coach Smart and the Georgia staff. At the Macon Touchdown Club Jamboree on February 13, 2017, Smart let everybody know just how special Jake had been in just his brief period of time with the program.
“We’re really proud of Jake and what’s he done with his leadership already,” Smart said. “He’s a commanding leader. He jumps out there and throws every day.”
“Not all quarterbacks can lead the same way. Some guys got it and some guys don’t,” Smart said. “And I know this – (Fromm’s) one of those kids who has great competitive fire and wants to be the best. He doesn’t want to be good. He wants to be great..." - Kirby Smart, Macon Touchdown Club Jamboree, 2/13/2017 (Article by Jason Butt of The Macon Telegraph)
Jake Fromm's consistency and his leadership earned him the confidence of those around him and allowed not one person in the program to blink an eye when he was forced in action against Appalachian State after the Eason injury. That day it was all about surviving, about moxy and grit. Just getting in there and not letting the moment be too big for him, but after that, the case for being called the greatest Georgia quarterback of all time began to be made in a hurry.
A true freshman, first-ever collegiate start, on the road, at Notre Dame. It is the kind of stuff that Hollywood scripts couldn't even think of putting out there. Again, I know that there are going to be people out there that will counter with, 'but just look at the talent around him'. Regardless of who he was lining up with, the ability to fully handle the responsibility of quarterbacking the Georgia Bulldogs' offense and the pressure of a special senior class that returned with very high expectations that were now counting on him, it would set the tone for what was to come.
We are not talking about best or giving superlatives here. This is not about the UGA quarterback with the strongest arm (Matt Stafford), or with the gaudiest stats (Aaron Murray). Being the greatest of all time is about consistently performing at a high level and delivering when the chips are down and it's needed most. Being the greatest is about having an enate ability to do what is necessary, big things or small things, to ensure the results of the team and the program are so positive, so dominant, that expectations are permanently raised. Jake Fromm did that.
Going by pure numbers, Fromm is not the most accomplished of all time by far. Aaron Murray holds that distinguishment. However, when comparing Fromm to other modern era Georgia QBs, his numbers stack up quite well.
Stats compiled via www.sports-reference.com
Compared to Murray, Stafford, Greene, and Zeier, in his first three seasons at the helm for Georgia as the starting quarterback, Fromm had the highest completion percentage by far, was only behind Murray in yards per attempt (which was skewed by his junior year) and had a touchdown to interception ratio of over 4:1.
The average Final AP Poll ranking for the Georgia Bulldogs under Fromm was 4th. Jake helped to lead Georgia to it's first SEC Championship in 15 years and never played in a bowl game that was not one of the "New Year's 6" or old "BCS Bowls". Fromm actually threw for more yardage in his junior year than any other and the attempts were up significantly due to the running game being stymied somewhat.
Jake Fromm had two offensive coordinators at Georgia, two different quarterback coaches, massive amounts of turnover at receiver and yet, statistically speaking, he improved year to year. Sure, at times, the offense as a whole was not aesthetically pleasing, and Fromm is not infallible, but the consistency that he brought in terms of commanding the offense and leading never waivered.
Even in a game like South Carolina in 2019, Georgia's only SEC East loss in the Jake Fromm era, he still lead Georgia in crunch time. After one of the worst performances of his career, down 17 to 10 in the 4th Quarter and backed up on his own 4-yard line, Fromm proceeded to go 5 of 9 for 62 yards, added 7 yards rushing, and threw a touchdown to Demetris Robertson to tie the game.
Against Florida in his career, Fromm was 41 of 61 (67.2%) for 620 yards, 6 touchdowns, and only 1 interception. In Jacksonville, Fromm averaged a gaudy 10.16 yards per attempt and the combined scores of the contests ended up Georgia 102 - Florida 41.
The Iconic "Don't ever doubt Jake Fromm" moment after the 2019 defeat of Florida
At the end of the day, all of the titles and the GOAT talks are subjective. Many could say that Aaron Murray is the greatest because of the production, but you have to take into account the lack of defense Georgia was playing in those years and was forcing Mike Bobo to open things up.
Many could say David Greene was a left-handed Jake Fromm before his time and brought Georgia out of a dark era of SEC East mediocrity. Then, of course, there is Fran Tarkenton that played in a totally different era and a generation that would get a lot of due consideration.
Ultimately, Georgia football has not seen this level of expectations where literally it is national championship or bust year in and year out. Kirby Smart planned for it to be that way. Without Jake Fromm, that doesn't happen. The results that Fromm helped to produce and the manner in which he went about doing it give Jake Fromm a very strong case and claim of being the greatest of all time when it comes to quarterbacks at Georgia.
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