Born to do it

Freshman quarterback Jake Fromm has been described by teammates in a lot of different ways.

Scared, is not one you'll hear.

That includes the challenge that awaits the former Houston County standout this Saturday night, when Georgia (1-0) travels to South Bend to take on Notre Dame (1-0).

“I don’t think it is going to affect him so much because he is so mature,” Bulldog fullback Christian Payne said Monday. “To me, it’s like he’s been out there for a long time because he knows the huddle so well.”

Georgia linebacker Davin Bellamy recalls the impression Fromm made over the summer with his brash confidence despite his youth.

"When we were doing 7-on-7s, I thought, 'Man this guy is really challenging us.' But he really earned the defense's respect very early. And once you see how hard the guy works, in the meeting rooms and on the field, how he tries to be a perfections- it just really showed on Saturday."

Bulldog coaches are certainly banking on a similar performance.

With Jacob Eason out for an undetermined amount of time after spraining his left knee in the first quarter of Saturday’s 31-10 win over Appalachian State, the job is now Fromm’s.

“You certainly don’t script that to happen that way. I thought he came in and managed the situation well,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “Every situation will be different because App State obviously wasn’t planning for him, so the next team probably will be. We know that. Jake Fromm is a mature freshman that’s going to be able to take over the offense and hopefully go out and execute. He’s got some good players around him. He’s got to use those guys.”

Fromm led Georgia on three consecutive touchdown drives after entering the game.

“He just came in and we did not lose any confidence at all. When Jacob got hurt, it was next man up, so what, now what?” Payne said. “I think he did a great job. I felt him commanding the huddle out there was like somebody who had been out there for four or five years.”

Payne said he saw signs that Fromm may be a little different long before that.

“When he first got here for spring ball, I felt he was going to be something special,” Payne said. “He was out there making checks since the first day he’s been here and he already knows the whole offense. He’s a special kind of guy that you don’t see a lot of.”

Football junkie and film rat are other ways Fromm has been described.

“Jake is a gamer. He is a kid that grew up around the game. I look at him and compare him to a coach’s son, a football junkie. He likes it. He loves being around it. He’s always cheering and fired up out there,” Smart said. “Every time he makes a good throw or a good play in practice, he is jacked and he is as excited for the kid who made the play as he is for himself. As a defensive coach, you may see him cheering and think that he’s rubbing it in, but that’s just who he is. He really is passionate about the game. He can’t let his emotions get in the way for him because, for him, it’s just an excitement. He’s that kind of way. He’s just competitive.”

Safety J.R. Reed knows a thing or two about that.

During the summer in workouts during 7-on-7 drills, Fromm’s competitive nature would quite often spill out onto the practice field.

“I like that in him. It’s good competition, it keeps practice going, it keeps it interesting,” Reed said. “In the two-minute drill, this kid really gets after it. He has that it factor. He can just go, and seems to win it almost every time.”

Payne can vouch for that.

“He’ll get us all fired up, making us excited about going out to play,” he said. “He just attacks every day with trying to get better, each and every day he’s always got a smile on his face.”

Obviously, whether Fromm will still be smiling after Saturday’s game in South Bend remains to be seen.

But with the situation being what it is, there’s nobody the Bulldogs would rather have under center in a game that will no doubt have much of the nation’s attention.

“I think he’s going to do fine. It’s just a part of who he is as a person. On and off the field, he’s a great kid, he’s a leader,” Payne said. “There are just certain intangibles you can’t really teach somebody. He’s just born with it. I think he has that.”