UGA starting quarterback Jake Fromm only completed 4 of his first 12 passes in the first half, but he would rally and complete 10 out of the next 17 to finish with 14 of 29 passing for 254 yards and four touchdowns in Georgia’s 52-7 over the Yellow Jackets on Saturday. The junior field general seemed to find some “mojo” with his receivers that had been missing since the Florida game back on November 2nd.
Three of Fromm’s four touchdowns came in the third quarter, with one only taking a single play when he found a wide-open George Pickens for a 41-yard score. Fromm described the offense’s mindset coming out of half-time, be explosive, and put some points on the board.
“For us on offense, it was up to us. We were kind of stopping ourselves most of the time,” said Fromm. “And I think we committed to say, ‘let’s go out and play football, have a little fun, and score some points.’ “
Senior Tyler Simmons was Georgia’s leading wide receiver on the day with 3 catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. Fromm shared his thoughts on Simmons, what he’s meant to the team and his performance in Saturday’s win.
“Tyler (Simmons) is an awesome guy who has been with it all season. It’s really awesome. I’m really proud of him to have a big moment here and to play Georgia Tech and to have a really big game,” said Fromm. “I know it means a lot to him and I’m really thankful he’s kind of come on here.”
Pickens and Simmons were just two of nine different receivers that Fromm completed passes to on the day. One of the questions all season has been the chemistry of Fromm with his receiving corps after losing Terry Godwin, Mecole Hardman, Isaac Nauta, and Riley Ridley to the NFL and then Jeremiah Holloman being dismissed.
Coming into the beginning of the 2019 college football season, Simmons was UGA’s leading returning wide receiver with 14 catches in three years as a Bulldog. Junior Demetris Robertson had more catches in his career, 57, but they all came when he was at California and had yet to make a reception as a Dawg. Junior running back D’Andre Swift was the skill position player with the most receptions to his name, 49. Freshmen Dominick Blaylock, Kearis Jackson, and George Pickens were all unproven but talented.
After Saturday’s game, Fromm was asked about his chemistry and level of trust with the Bulldog receivers
“I’m with them one hundred percent. I think every single guy that we put on the field is able to make a great play at any given time,” said Fromm. “We’re ready and I’m behind them one hundred percent. Let’s go play football.”
Head coach Kirby Smart was asked to assess the performance of his starting quarterback during the postgame press conference and said that while Jake made some good decisions, he has to continue to improve.
“Well, we put a lot on him. When you start talking about checks, making decisions, doing things, they did a good job adjusting. This defense has always been good at disguising things and giving you different looks. They did some good things and Jake made some good decisions when they got us. They trick you every now and you’re like, ‘Ooh, they got us,’ ” said Kirby. “He threw it away a couple of times and really made good decisions. He’s got to continue to improve and play better and Jake gets us in and out of a lot of situations. That was big for us. Again, he’ll be the first to tell you he’s not playing perfect, he’s got to play better, but we’ve got to help him around him. We’ve got to help him with the run game, help him with some passing game to help him play the way he needs to play.”
For Georgia, as good as it’s defense is, the Bulldogs will need Jake Fromm and the offense to be clicking on all cylinders come Saturday, December 7 when they face LSU in the 2019 SEC Championship Game.
You can listen to Jake Fromm‘s full postgame interview by clicking on the video below.