Around the Dawghouse will bring you daily updates from what people and publications are saying about Georgia, from inside and outside of Athens.
Trent Dilfer praises Jake Fromm, Georgia football offense
Over the past decade, there isn’t a better college quarterback expert than Trent Dilfer. After winning a Super Bowl with the Ravens during his 14-year NFL career, Dilfer began to work heavily with Elite 11, which works with and develops the top high school quarterbacks in the country.
One of the quarterbacks that Dilfer worked with in Elite 11 was Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, who was a finalist in the 2016 competition. Now that Fromm has completed his first two seasons at Georgia, Dilfer’s opinion of Fromm hasn’t changed all that much from when he saw him compete in high school.
“Jake’s a great player. Not only is he a great player, but he’s a player who gets the most out of everybody. People gravitate towards him,” Dilfer said.
As a sophomore, Fromm completed 67 percent of his passes while throwing for 30 touchdowns to just 6 interceptions. He’s led Georgia to back-to-back SEC East titles and led the Bulldogs to an appearance in the 2018 national title game.
Fromm isn’t a finished quarterback product by any means. He did struggle in losses against Texas and LSU in 2018. Some have wondered about the possibility of whether or not Fromm could go pro after his junior season.
Dilfer gave an interesting answer on that subject as to whether Fromm could potentially be a first-round talent.
“I think he needs to be a little bit more athletic at the position. He needs to improve in the pocket, improve his movement patterns,” Dilfer said. “He’s got the arm, the leadership, the brain, the toughness.
“He needs to step it up a little bit athletically, which you can still do at that age. For me, my emphasis if I were coaching him, is to show a little more dynamic qualities as an athlete.”
Fromm will enter Georgia as the unquestioned starter in 2019, after seeing both Jacob Eason and Justin Fields transfer in each of the last two seasons. Eason and Fields were 5-star quarterbacks and fellow Elite 11 participants. Eason will play at Washington after sitting out the 2018 season, while Fields is hoping to be immediately eligible at Ohio State.
Georgia’s 2019 offense will be under a new direction, as James Coley was promoted to offensive coordinator. Jim Chaney left to take the offensive coordinator job at Tennessee.
Despite the change, Georgia’s offense shouldn’t look all that different. With running backs like D’Andre Swift, Brian Herrien and Zamir White, Georgia will still lean on the running game.
But Dilfer thinks that dynamic gives Georgia an advantage compared to the rest of college football.
“I love what they do offensively. They’re one of few teams that haven’t caved into this ‘throw it every-down mentality.’ It’s good for the team, it’s good for the players,” Dilfer said. “It’s the right way to win football games. They can do more.”
Even if Georgia can be run heavy at times, Dilfer is still confident that Fromm could lead Georgia through the air if called upon. In the 2018 Rose Bowl, Fromm did lead Georgia from a 31-14 deficit to a 54-48 overtime win.
“One thing with having Jake Fromm, if you’re playing sloppy or turning the ball over, he can throw you back into a game. With the playmakers they have, he can do that,” Dilfer said.
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