According to FanDuel, Georgia quarterback Jamie Newman (+1600) has been listed as one of the favorites to win the 2020 Heisman Trophy.
Newman is tied at No. 6 with Houston transfer quarterback D’Eriq King, and behind Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields (+175), Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (+430), Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, and Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez (+1200).
Newman arrived on campus in Athens earlier this week as news broke last Friday night that his name was in the UGA Student Directory. Then on Saturday, he made it official, announcing via his Twitter.
Newman led Wake Forest to an 8-5 record this past season in his first year as a starter. He threw for 2,868 yards and 26 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. Newman completed just 60.9 percent of his passes but did quite a lot with his feet as he rushed for 574 yards and six scores on 180 carries.
Newman was one of the top graduate transfer players at any position to enter his name in the transfer portal. He had interest from Oregon, Miami, Maryland, and Washington before announcing that he was coming to Georgia. Pro Football Focus has Newman listed as the third highest-graded quarterback returning next season behind Fields and Lawrence.
For a Georgia offense that struggled for the better part of the season, Newman brings a new skillset that former quarterback Jake Fromm didn’t have. Newman is great in the pocket but also known to be an efficient scrambler. The Demon Deacons’ offense used him in a lot of running plays. 164 of those 574 rushing yards were on scrambles. He broke 27 total tackles last season and scrambled for 40 first downs.
Georgia’s offense lost a lot on the offensive line, and it’s going to hard to replace playmakers such as Jake Fromm, D’Andre Swift, and Lawrence Cager. But Georgia does return a lot and has also added a lot of possible weapons in this year’s recruiting cycle.
At the receiver position, Georgia returns Demetris Robertson, George Pickens, and Dominick Blaylock. Returning at running back. Zamir White, James Cook, and Kenny McIntosh. And blocking for the quarterbacks, running backs, and receivers will be Jamaree Salyer, Warren Ericson, Justin Shaffer, Ben Cleveland, and Trey Hill all return with experience on the line.
Hopefully, with all that’s coming back and with what’s coming in for the Bulldogs, all those pieces can mesh with Newman’s style of play to make Georgia’s offense more consistently productive.