Jake Fromm reveals why he is back in Athens and what's next
Jake Fromm announced he was leaving Georgia to go pro in January 2020. Now in July 2022, Fromm is back in Athens. He and his wife recently bought a home in Oconee County and the three-year starting quarterback is taking online classes to finish his degree.
The quiet summer follows one of the crazier times of his life when he suddenly and unexpectedly became a starting quarterback for the New York Giants late in the 2021-22 season.
“I had just recently tested positive for Covid,” Fromm said. “I was out for ten days. I was secretly hunting every day. I was trying to shoot a deer in my ten-day vacation. In the mid-afternoons, me and my wife would go out to the field, and I would throw to her. She would run routes for me. I was doing everything I needed to do to be ready.”
He got the call that the Giants signed him. He then spent six weeks with the team in a time he calls a “crazy, whirlwind experience.”
“I have never been more tired in a six-week period in my entire life. It was an awesome experience,” Fromm said.
He is still working out and staying in shape should an NFL want him to join them for a training camp. Fromm has not had discussions with other football leagues like the USFL or XFL.
“I haven’t pushed the issue with my agent to reach out to these other leagues,” Fromm said. “At the moment, I am fine with NFL or out [of football] with some other things.”
Fromm is exploring what his life will look like when football training isn’t a staple in his daily routine. The move back to Athens appears to be a step in that direction. He mentioned media and real estate as possible avenues for him professionally.
He returns to Athens in the wake of the Bulldogs winning the national championship under his former backup quarterback, Stetson Bennett IV.
Fromm badly wanted to attend the College Football Playoff championship in Indianapolis but was playing with the Giants the day before. He had to stay for end-of-season exit meetings.
“I am in an extended stay hotel by myself,” Fromm said. “I watched the game by myself. It is one of the greatest moments ever and I get up to high five someone, and nobody is there.”
He did send text messages to the championship winning head coach and quarterback. Though, he knew it would take a while for Bennett to acknowledge the text.
“Stetson might be top three, and not two or three on the list, of worst texters of all time. It is unbelievable,” said Fromm.
Fromm said he and Bennett talk often, despite the low rate of returned texts. They share a bond as Georgia quarterbacks, a role that comes with glory and criticism in equal doses. Fromm says Bennett’s self-confidence and comfort with being himself is the key to how he became QB1 with a national championship ring.
“Stetson has got a factor to him where he cares, but he also doesn’t care what anybody thinks about him,” Fromm said. “That is why he was successful throughout the season with all that noise.”
The national championship dream was almost Fromm’s reality during his freshman season in 2017-18. He and the Bulldogs got as close to the championship podium as a team can get without going home with the trophy. That experience and the following two seasons left him with an agonizing decision in early 2020. He chose to leave Georgia after three years and go to the NFL.
“I’ve never prayed about a decision more than that decision right there,” Fromm said.
He sought counsel from family, coaches, mentors, and friends.
“I tried to gather as much information as I could. I thought it was a good decision to leave. I did. I have no regrets about it. I got to live a lifelong dream of mine playing in the NFL. I still think it was the right decision,” he said.
Like it does for many former coaches and players, Athens has called Fromm home.