No spring practice kept Kirby Smart and new offensive coordinator Todd Monken from getting their first real look at grad transfer quarterback Jamie Newman.

However, during an interview on the ESPN College Football Podcast with Kevin Negandhi and David Pollack, Smart said he’s been nothing but impressed with what he has been able to see thus far.

“We’re excited. Jamie has been a great addition to our program. We didn’t really get to see him through the spring, but we did get to see him in spring workouts and the first thing that pops out at you is his leadership ability,” Smart said. “He came into a situation where he doesn’t know a lot of guys on the team but that hasn’t hindered his ability to lead.”

That’s not all.

According to Smart, Newman, who threw for 2,868 yards and 26 touchdowns while rushing for 574 yards and six scores, checks a lot of boxes.

“Physically, he’s well put together,” Smart said of Newman, listed by Georgia as 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. “Mentally he’s well put together; he’s got the right mindset and he’s approached this thing the right way.”

Nevertheless, Smart was careful not to make any guarantees as far as playing time is concerned.

Although most assume that Newman will be the man under center when the Bulldogs open the season on September 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Virginia, Smart said Georgia’s other quarterbacks are also accounting themselves well.

“Yeah, that’s not the say he’s not going to have competitors come in here,” Smart said. “D’Wan (Mathis) has done a great job, Carson (Beck), Stetson (Bennett) … J.T. (Daniels) if he’s going to be able to play and be eligible … all those things are going to play a factor.”

But from the sound of it, beating out Newman for the job won’t be easy.

“I really like where Jamie is at. We like what we did last year at Wake,” Smart said. “We think he can create a lot of problems for defenses and I’m excited to see him go play.”

Until then, questions will remain.

Smart and Monken figure to start getting a better idea what they have in Newman once coaches are allowed to start working with players on July 25. Eight hours of required weight training, conditioning and film work begin July 15.

“That’s the toughest thing in a year of transition, transition being coordinator transition and quarterback transition,” Smart said. “It’s going to be very unique so we’re going to have to do a really good of managing our practice time, our walk-through time to make sure we take advantage of whichever quarterback winds up being the guy, especially if it’s him, that we can use his skill set the right way.”