Jamie Newman Opts Out of 2020 Season: What It Means

The Jamie Newman era at UGA is over. The Wake Forest transfer was believed to be the front-runner to win the quarterback job in Athens for the 2020 season, but now he’ll be opting out and training for the NFL Draft.

So, what does it mean for Georgia?

Drama and Chaos.

With Jamie Newman gone, all eyes now focus on Georgia’s other transfer QB, former 5-star J.T Daniels. The problem there is that, as of Saturday, Daniels still has not been medically cleared to play. Why was Daniels getting reps with the first-team if he’s still not cleared to play?

That’s a question for Kirby Smart. Georgia’s head coach must think Daniels will get cleared soon after giving him reps with the first-team unit. But if he’s not cleared soon the Georgia offense could be in trouble.

With Newman out and Daniels still not cleared to play, Smart is in a situation where he has to consider both D’Wan MAthis and freshman Carson Beck. If Daniels does become eligible to play and gets hurt or sick, Smart needs to make sure that either Mathis or Beck can run the offense. Sources say those two haven’t had much time with the ones. Will that continue as this young season rolls on?

Is Kirby Smart all in on those two?

D’Wan Mathis was a true last-minute signing in the 2019 class. Mathis was the best available option left for the Bulldogs, and they got him. That doesn’t mean he’s won over Georgia’s head coach yet.

Then you have the true freshman Beck. After leading his high school team to a state championship in 2018, Beck’s numbers decreased his senior year, and sources say folks in Athens started to get a little worried. Remember, it was Todd Hartley who sold Beck to Smart in the first place. 

Stetson Bennett has been in the program for some time. Is he really going to beat out a healthy J.T Daniels, D’Wan Mathis and Carson Beck? That seems unlikely. 

Either way, Kirby Smart now has a mess on his hands. The Bulldogs play their first game later this month, and if they didn’t have a quarterback competition already, they absolutely have one now.