Kirby Smart made his first public comments Wednesday regarding freshman quarterback Justin Fields, rumored to be transferring from the Georgia football team.
“I think he's looking at his options," Smart said after practice on Tuesday. "Let me say this about Justin. Justin is competing extremely hard. He’s in the meeting rooms; he’s rolling and going with the twos. His information to us is he’s looking at his options, which is what you do. You go into the (NCAA transfer) portal, which we all know he’s in. That’s the extent of it, and that’s the conversation we’ve had.”
Otherwise, Smart said nothing has changed regarding his young QB. Fields continues to practice with the team and will accompany the Bulldogs to the Sugar Bowl for their Jan. 1 date against Texas.
"I'm pleased with his work towards Texas—that he’s out there with us and has a really good demeanor," Smart said. "He's getting good reps and providing good competition.”
Smart denied that Fields' presence would affect the coaches' preparation for the game against the Longhorns.
“No, we’re trying to figure out how to beat Texas. We’re going to do everything we can to beat Texas, and whatever that instills for a game plan," Smart said. "He decided he wanted to play in the Sugar Bowl, and I told him absolutely, we’d love you to play in the Sugar Bowl. We want you there. He’s come out to work, do that, and support his teammates.”
A former five-star performer as the No. 2 quarterback in the 2018 class, Fields would likely have his pick of schools were he to transfer. Sources say Ohio State would be one of the favorites for his services.
Last Sunday, UGASports reported that rumors of a possible transfer by Fields had begun circulating over the weekend.
Fields’ potential transfer would mark the second straight year the Bulldogs have lost a former five-star performer. Jacob Eason decided to transfer to Washington last January.
Fields, who was at Georgia's practice Monday, completed 27 of 39 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed 42 times for 266 yards as a backup to starter Jake Fromm. He is expected to appeal to the NCAA to be eligible for the upcoming season, despite playing in 12 of Georgia’s 13 games.
His departure would leave starter Jake Fromm as the only scholarship quarterback currently on campus, although Smart was able to sign four-star signal caller Dwan Mathis, who flipped to the Bulldogs from Ohio State.
Mathis (6-4, 200 pounds), who hails from Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Michigan, is the No. 102 overall prospect in the Class of 2019.
Rumors of Georgia’s involvement with the former Buckeye pledge began to swirl Monday evening, with sources noting that Mathis was both looking around and serious about the opportunity in Athens.
Smart acknowledged the situation involving Fields had a direct impact on bringing Mathis into the field.
"That had an impact. Obviously, we have to recruit quarterbacks every year. You’ve got to keep quarterbacks in your program, and as you know, we were deficient at quarterback the last couple of years. We had only two on scholarship last year," Smart said. "Ultimately, we’d like to have four scholarship quarterbacks in our program. That's really hard to do nowadays, because it’s so volatile and they leave so often. We’re always working from the hope of being at four, but we were very fortunate to have that young man in camp. We communicated with him and he expressed interest, and the interest was mutual. We think he’s a really good player, very talented.”
The Bulldogs also have a verbal commitment from four-star QB John Plumlee, who Georgia hopes to sign in February.
