If there is a 2020 season, Georgia football will have a very experienced option under center.
In early December, JT Daniels’ father stated that his son had no intention of transferring from USC. In mid-April, however, the quarterback entered the NCAA transfer database. Despite the portal entry, it was thought that there was a good chance that Daniels returns to the Trojans. In late May, though, Daniels announced that he would be transferring into the Georgia football program.
It was thought at the time that Daniels would have to sit out the 2020 campaign. Instead, the player announced via Twitter that he has been granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA. That will leave the signal-caller with three years of eligibility to use with the Bulldogs.
“Thank you to the NCAA for granting me immediate eligibility and allowing me to play football this fall,” Daniels wrote. “I will not comment on the waiver or transfer, but look forward to a great 2020 season with my teammates.”
Thank you to the NCAA for granting me immediate eligibility and allowing me to play football this fall. I will not comment on the waiver or transfer, but look forward to a great 2020 season with my teammates.
— JT Daniels (@jtdaniels06) July 13, 2020
In 2018, Daniels became just the second true freshman (Matt Barkley, 2009) to start a season opener at quarterback for USC, going on to start 10 more games in 2018. The starter entering 2019, a torn ACL in this season’s opener prematurely ended Daniels’ sophomore campaign; that injury opened the door for another true freshman, Kedon Slovis, to grab the job and run with it — or pass with it as the case may be as Slovis shined, passing for 3,242 yards and 28 touchdowns in nine starts (he essentially missed two full games with a concussion). Over a span of five games, he threw for at least 400 yards four times, including a school-record 515 in the win over rival UCLA in the regular-season finale.
Daniels was a five-star 2018 signee. The California product was the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the country on the 247Sports.com composite. As a true freshman, Daniels threw for 2,672 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He completed nearly 60 percent of his 363 pass attempts that season.
Daniels is the second high-profile transfer UGA has landed this offseason as Jamie Newman transferred to the school in January. The Wake Forest graduate will be eligible to play immediately in 2020 as well. This, though, will be Newman’s final year of eligibility.
It’s unclear if Daniels’ availability this season, provided he’s fully recovered from the knee injury, will impact Newman’s future with the Bulldogs,
