S
SEC Sports
Former Wake Forest quarterback Jamie Newman has yet to announce where he will be playing in 2020, but the ex-Demon Deacons passer is trending toward landing at Georgia.
Georgia recruiting expert Kipp Adams is one of three 247Sports experts currently projecting Newman to land with the Bulldogs.
Newman has seen his stock rise in the last week since he announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal, and Georgia has undeniably become that much more attractive in recent days among potential destinations for Deacon. The Bulldogs find themselves in the market for a graduate transfer after three-year starter Jake Fromm announced his decision to declare early for the 2020 NFL Draft on Wednesday. Fromm played in 43 straight games at UGA with 42 starts where he has amassed a record of 35-8 as the starter.
UGA went on to finish 11-1 in the regular season in all three years with Fromm as the starter, so it goes without saying that the bar has been set high for whoever succeeds him under center. With Fromm's departure, Georgia is left with rising fourth-year junior Stetson Bennett IV, rising redshirt freshman D'Wan Mathis, and true freshman Carson Beck at quarterback on the current roster.
In 2019, Newman went 220 for 361 passing (60.9%) for 2,868 yards 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and 180 carries (including sacks) for 574 yards and six scores in 13 games. As you can tell by the numbers, Newman is a dual-threat quarterback and he burst onto the scene in 2019 for a Wake Forest team that went 7-5. Four of those five losses game in the last five games of the season and Newman struggled against the likes of Clemson, Syracuse, and Michigan State, but, on paper, he'd have more talent around him if he heads to Athens.
The Miami Hurricanes are also said to be on the shortlist for Newman among other top programs vying for his services. According to Fox sideline reporter Bruce Feldman, Newman narrowed his list to Oregon, Georgia, Washington, Miami and Maryland as his final five. Miami recently hired new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, who oversaw an SMU attack that was one of the most potent in the country in 2019. The Mustangs averaged 41.8 points per game under Lashleeās direction. SMU also averaged 489 yards per game.
With Oregon, Newman would replace 10,541 career yards and 95 touchdowns in Justin Herbert, who just led the Ducks to a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin. Wherever he lands, Newman is rated as one of the top-three quarterbacks in 2020, according to Pro Football Focus.
Should Newman head elsewhere than Georgia, the Bulldogs won't be without other options in replacing Fromm. There's a very good chance that Georgia takes the transfer route regardless of Newman's destination. Dawgs247 offered up a list including Newman and several others that could become viable options.
Georgia is coming off a 12-2 overall finish to the 2019 campaign. The team ended the season with a Sugar Bowl victory over Baylor on Jan. 1.
