For those who enjoy a good soap opera, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has some bad news for you. There will be no quarterback controversy this spring.

Jake Fromm is Georgia’s starter. No ifs, ands, or buts. This is Jake Fromm’s team; no other questions need to be asked.

It’s not like there was really any doubt before. But after last year’s signing of Justin Fields, comments by Smart that Fromm, like everyone else on the team, would have to “compete” for the job left many fans wondering—some perhaps hoping—that change would be coming.

We all know how that story turned out.

Fields is now preparing for his first year at Ohio State, while Fromm is back, having supplanted former teammate Jacob Eason, and now dispatched Fields, making him the last man standing under center, primed to have his best season yet in what will be his third year as Georgia’s starting quarterback.

So, although Fromm will be expected to take another step in his development, two words you won’t be hearing together this spring are "quarterback competition."

The only question is who will be No. 2. Will it be Stetson Bennett, the prodigal son who returned to Athens after spending last season at Jones Community College in Mississippi? Or will it be Dwan Mathis, the former Ohio State commit, who changed his mind on Signing Day in order to hook up with the Bulldogs?

Compared to the past two years, quarterback talk that surrounds Georgia this spring will be relatively tame.

The final numbers were impressive: In 14 games, Fromm completed 206 of 306 passes for 2,749 yards and 30 touchdowns with just six interceptions, a rating of 171.32.

But still the former Houston County star had his detractors.

Much of it had nothing to do with his performance, instead coming from those simply wanting Smart to turn over the reins to Fields.

Nobody will truly know how much—if any—the presence of Fields affected Fromm. But the fact is, if you go back and look over the history of Georgia football, his overall season was one of one of the better ones a Bulldog quarterback has ever had.

There was the loss to LSU, a game that saw Fromm complete just 16 of 34 passes for 209 yards and two interceptions against LSU. But more often than not, Fromm performed to the level that Smart and most fans have grown accustomed to seeing, including wins over arch-rivals Florida, Auburn, and Georgia Tech before coming up short in the SEC title game against Alabama, despite a hot first half.

Georgia’s loss to Texas in the Sugar Bowl proved to be another downer, but after Fields’ decision soon thereafter to leave for Ohio State, Fromm remained the last man standing.

Fields had his moments for the Bulldogs, although many were critical of the way Smart and former offensive coordinator Jim Chaney utilized the former five-star, limiting him to only a handful of series throughout the course of the year.

Could Fields have done more with additional opportunity? That’s a question we’ll never have answered, although from the small sampling fans received, it was easy to tell why he was held in such high regard after he completed 27 of 39 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing 42 times for 266 yards and four scores.

Fields wouldn’t be Georgia’s only quarterback transfer.

Walk-on Matthew Downing, who played in four games completing 8 of 10 passes for 88 yards, ultimately transferred to Texas Christian.

After Fields moved on, Georgia was desperate to add some depth to its quarterback room and did so by signing the former four-star Mathis, along with bringing Bennett back into the fold.

Mathis was all set to sign with Ohio State until Fields made his decision known, while the addition of Bennett was an opportunity to bring back someone who already had a working knowledge of the offense.

As an early enrollee, Mathis is expected to get a major crash course in the inner working of the Georgia offense. He will be a work in progress, but coaches love his potential.

Quarterback is the most polarizing position on any football team, and that won’t be changing anytime soon.

Championships are ultimately how all quarterbacks are judged. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking high school, college, or the pros.

You can throw for acres of yards and countless touchdowns, but ultimately, it’s all about the titles.

Ask Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons, for example. For as good as Ryan has been over his career, for some he will never be a great quarterback because to date he hasn’t led the Falcons to a Super Bowl.

Former Bulldog great Aaron Murray has received similar criticism. Murray became the all-time leader for passing yardage in the SEC, but because he didn’t lead Georgia to an SEC Championship, there are some out there who don’t hold him in quite the same regard.

There have been similar murmurs surrounding Fromm, although he’s already done something Murray never did: quarterback Georgia to an SEC championship. And he did it as a freshman in 2017, before going on to help the Bulldogs beat Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl to earn a spot in the National Championship against Alabama.

Although last year’s loss to Alabama in the SEC title game and Texas in the Sugar Bowl has left some fans wondering if Fromm is truly capable of leading the Bulldogs to ultimate football glory, where he’s helped lead Georgia in two years as the starter is nothing short of amazing.

Obviously, Smart feels he can, having hitched his wagon to the Fromm by virtue of what we witnessed last year.

Yes, there are areas in his game that Fromm will look to improve. There’s not a single quarterback in the country who says otherwise.

Some wonder how Fromm will do now that Fields isn’t there to “push” him in practice. The guess here is he’s going to do just fine, and likely flourish under new offensive coordinator James Coley.

Bottom line: Despite what some critics may say, Fromm gives Georgia one of the most experienced and more talented quarterbacks in the SEC.

But he needs to stay healthy

Nothing against the other quarterbacks in camp, but the drop-off between Fromm and the other quarterbacks on hand is rather significant, so keeping him upright and healthy is going to be paramount for Georgia’s season to be a success.

As long as that happen, look for Fromm to post some big-time numbers as the Bulldogs seek to be in the thick of the SEC title hunt, and perhaps more.

If not, well, we won’t go there.