It will be like old times this season for Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, and the guy snapping him the ball, Trey Hill.
The two were teammates at Houston County (Ga.) High School, with Fromm being one year ahead of his future Bulldogs teammate.
There’s no official statistics on it, but it seems very rare to have a college quarterback taking snaps from a former high school teammate. UGA’s center position opened up after veteran Lamont Gaillard was drafted by the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.
“I think when you spend that much time together in high school – and Jake and Trey spent a lot of time together in the weight room and on the field, all summer … When you have that trust, and can count on people like that, anytime you get the unique opportunity to play together at the next level, it really gives you the chance to really trust a guy,” said Von Lassiter, who coached both players at Houston County.
“Jake probably trusts the fact that Trey is going to get it done. I think that’s a very unique situation, and they are very fortunate to be in that situation at Georgia.”
Technically, Hill didn’t snap to Fromm in high school, with the exception of one game. Hill, who protected Fromm’s blind side at left offensive tackle, asked to be moved to center before the team’s showdown with Lee County. At nose tackle, the opponent had 5-star Aubrey Solomon (who transferred to Tennessee last January, after initially signing with Michigan).
“When we got the video loaded up of Lee County the week before the game, Trey called me and said ‘I want to play center; I can block the kid,’” Lassiter recalled. “So he played center against Lee County his junior year, and Jake’s senior year.”
How did it go for Hill? “He did very well with his grade. Aubrey won some, but Trey won more than he lost. “
Georgia has a good idea on what to expect from Hill after he played in all 14 games last season, including starts in the last four games at right guard. He also played all but four offensive snaps at center in the win over Kentucky after Gaillard exited early with an injury.
“He’s done exactly what I thought he would do in college,” Lassiter said. “He’s got a lot of ability, and a lot more ‘want to’ (motivation). He works really hard. He’s always worked hard to put himself in the best position to play.
“He has gotten his body into position to play. He’s got the offense down. He got to play a lot as a freshman. Hopefully, he’ll continue to stay healthy and be a starter this year. It has been pretty good for Trey so far at Georgia.”
The 6-foot-4, 330-pounder projects to be the No. 1 center when UGA kicks off camp in a few weeks.