Spring Football Questions: Is Jamie Newman a slam dunk?

There’s nothing like a good quarterback competition to stoke interest in spring practice.

Although head coach Kirby Smart may ultimately rue the weekly questions, there’s going to be little he can to do keep media and fans alike from wondering who the next quarterback of the Georgia Bulldogs will be.

During a question-and-answer session at Monday’s Macon Touchdown Club awards banquet, Smart told those in attendance that it will be an honest to goodness competition to fill in that tantalizing blank.

Does that mean that Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman isn’t the favorite? Of course, it doesn’t. But let's be honest.

We can’t imagine that Newman would have selected Georgia if he didn’t believe there wasn’t a pretty good chance he'd be under center when the Bulldogs kick off the 2020 season against Virginia in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Obviously, Smart can’t come out and say that just yet. As surprising as it might be for Newman not to be The Man, it wouldn’t be fair to the three other scholarships already on campus—Stetson Bennett, D’Wan Mathis, and Carson Beck—not to offer them every opportunity to win the job themselves.

That’s the way it should be.

Although smart money (no pun intended) will be on Newman to become Georgia’s starting quarterback in 2020, Bulldog coaches have no choice but to put all four contenders on an equal platform and let the results speak for themselves.

Of course, that won’t eliminate the speculation.

During his last meeting with beat writers, Smart admitted he and his staff had been keeping an eye on Newman, in case he decided to leave Wake Forest as a graduate transfer, in the event Jake Fromm did elect to leave Georgia a year early for the NFL.

“Jamie has been very mature about the process. These grad-transfers, No. 1, the fact they have graduated college—and he graduated from Wake Forest—these kids understand what they want. They're very driven in what they want,” Smart said back in February. “They’re not really into the whole recruiting process. He handled it that way and was very professional about it. We're looking forward to putting him to work and letting him go out and compete this spring.”

Newman, who completed over 60 percent of his passes for 2,868 yards and 26 touchdowns last season, also rushed for 574 yards and 11 scores.

Nevertheless, Smart appears to have made it clear that the starting quarterback job for Georgia will be determined by how each candidate performs on the field.

Although we know Smart isn’t afraid to play a freshman quarterback, the fact he went after a graduate transfer like Newman is a pretty good indication that he thought an experienced option at the position is the way to go.

That’s what he has in Newman, who, according to Pro Football Focus, was one of college football’s most improved college quarterbacks a season ago.

After posting an overall grade of 77.9 in 2018, Newman bumped that number up to 85.2 in 851 snaps last fall.

At one point, he ranked third in the country behind two quarterbacks you may have heard of: Joe Burrow and Justin Fields.

Newman’s proficiency in the vertical passing game will no doubt be exploited by new offensive coordinator Todd Monken. His ability to extend plays with his legs seemingly makes the North Carolina native just the kind of talent the Bulldogs will need under center this fall.

The junior from Blackshear has been an underdog all his life, and will likely be so again in regard to beating out Newman for the starting quarterback job.

It’s actually a bit of a shame. Bennett has done everything humanly possible to be the starter, and has always been held in high regard by teammates and coaches alike.

Who can forget back in 2017, when Smart heralded Bennett for his scout-team work in preparing the defense for Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield? Former defensive coordinator Mel Tucker even called him “a beast.”

Unfortunately, Bennett still has to fight the stereotype of being too small to get it done, despite completing 20 of his 27 attempts last year for 260 yards and two touchdowns.

Unfair? Yes, it is. But Bennett’s a tough dude, and Georgia could certainly do worse. Even if he doesn’t win the job, “The Mailman” can be counted on delivering for the Bulldogs, even if he’s stuck in a backup role.

Mathis was already a major story after Smart revealed that the redshirt freshman had greenlighted by doctors following last May’s brain surgery to resume practice with the team.

Although Mathis has been cleared for contact, he won’t have to worry about that until he gets in an actual game, as Bulldog quarterbacks aren’t subjected to tackling during spring or preseason drills.

But the fact that he can is big news and should provide a boost to his confidence as he joins the competition on a full-fledged basis.

We saw during last year’s G-Day game what Mathis is capable of, especially as a runner, and it will be interesting to see how Monken may implement those skills moving forward.

At 6-foot-6 and 205 pounds, Mathis still needs to get stronger, so some added muscle won’t hurt. But he certainly appears to have the skill set that that will keep him in the conversation at the position.

The former four-star has the size you’re looking for, and as the only freshman quarterback brought in by the Bulldogs, it’s obvious that Georgia thinks very highly of the young man from Jacksonville.

Beck lacks nothing in confidence, but the fact that he’s a true freshman could ultimately work against him in his quest to earn the starting job in his first year.

He’ll get his shot, but like all freshmen, there’s going to be some growing pains as he learns the system, and faces the normal challenge of getting acclimated to college ball.

The fact he’s an early enrollee is obviously big, but the experience factor is an area that can’t be overlooked.

I know Smart said it’s going to be an open competition, and you’ve got to take him at his word. However, it doesn’t quite seem credible that, when spring practice is complete, we won’t have a pretty good idea that Jamie Newman is going to be Georgia’s starting quarterback this fall.

You can probably mark that down right now, but for the sake of fair play, we’ll let the competition play out.

Consider me stunned if it ends up otherwise.