Every year we have a lot of media hype coming into the football season focusing on this or that guy. I ain’t complainin’ because I don’t think nobody does it better than me. jmo.
Last year we were told to watch out for Kelly Bryant and Tommy Stevens in particular. Both of those guys got their entire coaching staffs fired which I sort of predicted well before the season started. Okay, I didn’t expect them to get their coaches fired exactly but I claimed they were likely vastly overrated. I understand. It’s the media’s job to sell a story and for the most part everybody in the profession needs to be on the same page to make it work. They sort of create a bubble and apparently share talking points.
Anyway, Georgia brought in 2 transfer QBs, Newman and Daniels. We don’t know if Daniels will be eligible this year, not yet anyway. They have 2 other low 4-star QBs on their roster which are getting no mention at all. The media was all in on hyping Newman until Daniels announced his transfer and that prompted the media to take a step back.
I think Newman is way overrated. That’s just my opinion. Georgia has to replace the bulk of its offensive line this year. Last year, during what has been hailed as Newman’s breakout year, he was playing behind 3 redshirt seniors on his offensive line at Wake. I’m confident Georgia will field a more talented OLine but I’m almost certain it will be sorely lacking in experience. jmo.
I took a look at Newman’s performance as a passer last year and compared it to the national rankings of the efficiency of the pass defenses he was facing. See the table below. For reference the efficiency of our pass defense was ranked 25th best in the nation last year and that was with a lot of youth.
I will be surprised if Newman anywhere near measures up to the hype some are selling. Daniels on the other hand may be an impact player. There is some question about his health, or better said, his recovery from his torn ACL, and of course if he or anyone else gets the nod at QB they’re still going to have to work behind a mostly green offensive line. They also have to learn a new offensive system because Kirby brought in a new OC from the outside for 2020 and they had no spring practice.
I think the most likely scenario is that Georgia’s offense will take a step back this year. They should have a helluva defense but against good to decent teams they’re probably going to have to win low scoring games. jmo.
Here’s Newman’s performance numbers from last year. He'll be a RSr this year.