The speculation about what we will see from JT Daniels this fall has been nonstop for months. Whether or not he lives up to the hype, we’ll soon see.

Whatever happens, when it comes to confidence, that’s an area Bulldog safety Lewis Cine says will not be in short supply for the California native.

For example.

During Friday’s Zoom session with reporters, Cine recalled the summer 7-on -7 drills, when Daniels would let Bulldog defenders hear about it whenever he happened to make a big play.

“He’s a competitor, and when he makes a good play, he’s going to talk,” Cine said. “But when I make a good play, I’m going to talk to him also. It kind of keeps the fire going and makes practice fun.”

Confidence is certainly a buzzword when the subject of Daniels is broached with the Bulldogs.

That includes Kirby Smart.

“I’ve really not seen a lot of difference in his confidence. To be a quarterback, you have to be a confident person, in and of itself,” Smart said. “He’s probably got more confidence with good reason from actual experience in the SEC having played, than he had prior. But he didn’t lack confidence, whether it was in his arm, his mind, any of that from when he first got here.”

Smart also believes Daniels’ mental growth as a player, along with the fact he’s now been in the program for over a year are reasons his confidence level is where it is.

“I think his mental growth and maybe his confidence level in his relationship with the receivers and tight ends have improved. His relationship with the players, just sheer connection, has improved, which therefore has improved confidence,” Smart said. “It’s much easier to demand excellence when you know somebody personally, than walk out there and you’ve been on Zoom for three months like we were this time last year. He’s in a much better position to be confident.”

Tight end John FitzPatrick agrees.

When asked what he thought the difference would be in Georgia’s offense this fall compared to 2020, the senior cited Daniels’ confidence and the returning players the Bulldogs have.

“I’d say the biggest difference will be we have a lot of continuity. We return a lot of starters, a lot of great players,” FitzPatrick said. “We’re ready to make explosive plays through the passing game, through the run game. I think we’re going to connect on all cylinders.”

FitzPatrick’s statement confirmed what Daniels’ told the press two weeks ago at SEC Media Days.

“We’re bringing everybody back from the Cincinnati game. That’s huge,” Daniels said. “I think we've done a great job as a team and how we've approached the off-season, and how much importance we put on our core DNA and our team beliefs and really setting a standard for how we are, and who we are, and I really think that's going to help prepare us for a good 2021 season.”

With Daniels ensconced as the starter, Smart was asked about the competition behind him. Carson Beck, Stetson Bennett, and Brock Vandagriff will compete to see who becomes the top backup

"I would judge fall camp on kind of a continuum. We're going to get 24, 25 practices to watch those guys grow, compete, and develop. Move those guys around some, and I think each one has their own strength. We've very excited about the growth Carson has made since he's been here," Smart said. "Brock, for a guy to just come in and get this much thrown at him this quick. You have to remember, Carson didn't really get this, because Carson went through Covid and didn't get to go through spring. So, to see Brock go absorb all that information and study really hard—and he's so diligent at studying, he's growing really fast. And Stetson knows our offense. He got a lot of reps last year and he's helped the other quarterbacks in the room. Each one has taken their role in terms of helping our team.”