The buzz picked up Thursday morning that USC Trojans quarterback JT Daniels would be transferring to Georgia.
At around 4 p.m. ET, Daniels made it official, tweeting that he is indeed taking his talents to Athens.
Daniels, who entered the transfer portal in mid-April, signed with USC as a five-star pro-style quarterback in the class of 2018. Out of Santa Ana, California, he ranked as the nation’s No. 6 overall player and as the third ranked quarterback, behind only Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields.
He started for the Trojans in 2018 as a true freshman and has only used one full year of eligibility. Daniels’ freshman season had its ups and downs. He threw for 14 touchdowns and 2,672 yards with 10 interceptions, and the Trojans finished with a disappointing 5–7 record. Daniels was the starter to open the 2019 season as well, but tore his ACL and meniscus in the season-opener. After that, it was Kedon Slovis who came in and threw for 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns. With Slovis returning this year, it left Daniels no choice but to look to play elsewhere. Similar to the Jacob Eason/Georgia situation.
THANK YOU USC ✌🏻
Excited for the future #GoDawgs🐶 pic.twitter.com/ewfhBG3ved— JT Daniels (@jtdaniels06) May 28, 2020
What it means for Georgia in 2020 is not yet clear. If he does gain immediate eligibility to play this year, it will make things a lot more interesting in Athens. Georgia landed Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman this offseason. Not only is Newman expected to start, but he is viewed as a guy who could contend for the Heisman. Already on the roster at quarterback this year is Newman, Stetson Bennett IV, redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis and true freshman Carson Beck.
And for 2021, whether or not Daniels receives immediate eligibility this year he’ll have plenty of competition. With Beck set to be a redshirt freshman next year and with 5-star quarterback Brock Vandagriff committed to UGA in the class of 2021, the Dawgs could have yet another quarterback competition on their hands. But despite what we’ve seen from Georgia in recent memory with Jacob Eason and Jake Fromm, starting a true freshman at quarterback in the SEC is not terribly ideal, so Vandagriff taking a redshirt year would not be so bad. We’ll have to wait and see if this possibly impacts Vandagriff’s decision to play for Georgia. What Beck will do is interesting to ponder as well. If he is unable to beat out Vandagriff or Daniels in 2021 he may look to transfer from Georgia. Remember, he’s a big-time talent as well who signed with UGA as a 4-star prospect in this year’s recruiting class and enrolled early in Athens. But he’s also a competitor who has his sights set on starting for the Bulldogs. As for Mathis, I would not be surprised to see him transfer out of UGA, as it’s unlikely he gets the starting nod over Newman, Daniels, Beck or Vandagriff.
The addition of Todd Monken as offensive coordinator this offseason looks to be attracting some top quarterback talent to Athens. Since the departure of Jake Fromm to the NFL, Georgia has added five new faces to its quarterback room, as pointed out by Jeff Sentell and DawgNation.
- Graduate transfer Jamie Newman
- Transfer JT Daniels
- Early enrollee Carson Beck
- Preferred walk-on Austin Kirksey
- Preferred walk-on Jackson Muschamp