This is part of Film Don't Lie's offseason series from Brent Rollins and Dayne Young. Today's piece examines successful passes from JT Daniels in his late-season starts. Part Two will show areas of improvement for Georgia's quarterback.
Dayne: It's important to begin this piece with the caveat that this in an incomplete picture of JT Daniels and his potential. For as much as we know, based on what was seen at the end of the 2020 season, there's still plenty we don't know. How limited was he by his knee? How much did a weak, backloaded schedule benefit him? What will a full offseason mean for his development? Answers to those questions will come in time. Our job is to assess the film and data at hand.
Brent: We're going to examine the good and the bad over the next week, based on what we actually got to see. Given the focus on the "good", the raw numbers the Bulldogs put up in Daniels' four starts were both impressive and encouraging:
- 37.3 points per game
- 486 yards per game
- 87.4 overall passing grade from Daniels
Now let's examine it in detail.
Deep ball
Dayne: Georgia's passing game has needed an accurate and consistent deep ball passer. Daniels showed the willingness and fearlessness to allow receivers a chance to make a play. His arm strength and anticipation elevated Georgia's ability to stretch the field. More of this will open up running lanes at the line of scrimmage for other players.
Brent: His best throw of the season. Beautiful placement and timing on this ball to allow Burton to stay full speed and inbounds. On throws over 20 yards in the air, Daniels had the sixth-best passing grade in the SEC at 91.4. On those throws, he was 13 for 33 for 490 yards, 10 big-time throws (our highest-graded throws, including this one), three turnover-worthy plays and three drops. His adjusted completion percentage (accounting for the drops) was 48.5 percent. For comparison, Mac Jones led the conference (and FBS) with a 98.9 passing grade and 58.5 percent adjusted completion, while Stetson Bennett had a 64.6 passing grade and 25.0 percent adjusted completion rate on deep passes.
