It should come as no surprise that Jake Fromm’s competitive spirit isn’t limited to the football field.

Whether it's fishing for bass at a tournament in Alabama or hunting turkeys with friends, those competitive juices run high.

“First of all, I love fishing. A couple of my buddies are on the Bass Fishing team. It just kind of worked out one weekend, I kind of had an off weekend and, hey, let’s go fishing in the bass tournament,” Fromm said. “We actually did a little bit better than what we said we finished. We didn’t go weigh in there because we only had one fish, but it would have bumped our 200-something finish to like 109th or something. It is what it is. It was a fun experience.”

Naturally, Fromm caught the only fish.

“Yeah, I did. I caught it while I was on the phone with one of the other guys fishing,” Fromm said. “It was about a three-pound spot (spotted bass). It wasn’t too bad.”

On the phone?

Yep.

“I had my duck hunting jacket on. It was cold out there,” Fromm said. “I had a little spot, a little phone on speaker and I was fishing.”

A recent turkey hunt with offensive lineman Cade Mays and Georgia baseball pitcher Tony Locey netted birds for each.

“We went turkey hunting (with Locey),” Fromm said. “We got a little competitive with that. One of the guys shot a couple of birds, but it was good.”

Anyone who knows Fromm should know competition is part of his DNA. It’s who he is.

That includes his feeling on the current competition between he and freshman Justin Fields who, like Fromm, is a former five-star performer anxious to prove he’s capable of getting the job done.

“Absolutely. I expect nothing but Justin to come out and compete. Everybody in that quarterback room is competing and working really hard,” Fields said. “At the end of the day, we’re making the team a lot better. Any way we can help the team as a room and as a unit, we’re going to do it.”

Fromm knows exactly what it’s like to be in Fields’ shoes.

Last year, it was Fromm as the precocious young freshman fans were giddy about seeing as he competed with Jacob Eason, a former five-star who transferred to Washington at the end of last year.

“The same way Jacob was to me, I try to be that way with Justin. At the end of the day, we learn a lot from each other,” Fromm said. “It’s a lot of mental reps on each other’s end. At the end of the day, even Stetson (Bennett), too, we’re learning a lot from Stetson. We’re trying to help him out too. At the end of the day, everybody in that room is competing really hard.”

Helping Fields out any way he can is only natural.

“You want to help a guy out, especially your teammate, any way you can. Helping him out is only going to make you better,” Fromm said. “It’s going to make the team better. At the end of the day, it’s exactly what we want to do. I just hope I can be the best I can be for him.”

Fromm likes what he’s seen from Georgia’s offense so far.

“Things are looking pretty good. Obviously, we don’t have Nick (Chubb) and Sony (Michel), but, man, our backs are doing great, offensive line is doing well, and guys are really starting to step up at receivers,” Fromm said. “Offensively we’re feeling pretty good moving into it. And just hoping we can continue to get better.”

Fromm’s season was certainly one to remember.

The former Houston County star was one win away from being just the second true freshman to lead his team to a national championship, while finishing the season ranked ninth nationally in passing efficiency (160.10), and passing for 2,615 yards, the second most by a Bulldog freshman.

His 24 touchdown passes established a new freshman mark.

Lessons were certainly learned.

“Coming here, you definitely get a football education. You learn a whole lot about football. Definitely being your first year of college, you grow up a lot and learn a lot in that aspect,” Fromm said. “Coming through with what we went through last year, I learned a lot about our team, and will continue to learn even more now and see where we’re going.”

Getting better is one of his main goals.

“For me, it’s not very hard, that’s just kind of the way we do things here. That’s the way I’ve kind of learned to do it, take it one day at a time, kind of go through it, go out there and compete every day at practice,” Fromm said. “But we’re also out there competing in the film room, trying to make everybody better and make the team better.”

There’s more.

Fromm said he’s certainly not satisfied with certain aspects of his play last fall and is making it a point to improve them all.

“I’m trying to get better in the pocket, try to have an even more clearness of the offense and to have better rhythm on my throws,” he said. “Obviously, doing a better job throwing on the run. I’m just trying to take all that in and improve as much as I can.”

That’s just the kind of player he is.

“I’m still going to be the same guy every single day, even from the day I got here. I’m just the kind of guy who goes in and competes, somebody who works his butt off,” Fromm said. “I’m never going to stop doing that and I don’t want anybody on the team to stop working on their game. That’s what everybody on the team is doing, competing and working. That’s kind of what we do here.”