During SEC Media Days on Tuesday, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart discussed quarterback JT Daniels and how he has progressed since the end of the 2020 season.
Georgia has high hopes of making a deep run and possibly winning the College Football Playoff this year, and a large part of that is because of Daniels and how impressive he was in 2020.
Smart spoke on Daniels, saying this offseason has given him a lot of time to build chemistry with his teammates and really take command of the offense.
“No. 1, he’s more comfortable with his teammates,” Smart said. “You know he’s had more connection to the things we’ve done. He didn’t get a chance to really do that last year. You can’t do that through zoom. He wasn’t healthy.
“No. 2, he’s physically more mobile, healthier, stronger, and more confident in his knee, knee brace off.
No. 3, the players around him are more knowledgeable. Our limitations did not come from JT. They came from the people around him, so the people around him are back for the most part, and we’re excited for what we can do with all those guys.”
Daniels looks ready to lead the Bulldogs in 2021 and he should be one of the nation’s top quarterbacks at the end of the season.
He had a phenomenal first year with Georgia, throwing for 1,231 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions in four games.
Everything seemed to click when Daniels lined up under center, and years of built-up frustration with the Georgia offense began to slip away.
And he really thrived in offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s offense, being able to air the ball out and hit receivers deep.
“I think coach Monken’s system benefits JT,” Smart said. “JT could learn that as fast as he needed to. He’s built to learn things. That is his strength. He loves the X’s and O’s part. But what we needed was to build the people around JT, and make sure that people around JT can handle what we’re trying to do, and we have done a good job doing that through spring.”