After J.T. Daniels lit up Mississippi State by completing 28 of 38 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns, head coach Kirby Smart was asked if he could understand why fans have wondered why the Southern Cal transfer has not played before now.
“Absolutely I would. But I also think people need to take into consideration that I’ve been coaching football for I don’t know how many years, 20 or 25 years, and God knows (Todd) Monken has probably doubled me, as old as he is,” Smart said. “There’s not a decision that we make as coaches, as a coaching staff, as an offensive coaching staff—five guys that I adore and think the world of. Maybe the question should be, man, aren’t they glad they’ve got J.T. here, when nobody thought maybe they needed him.”
That obviously hasn't been the case.
Despite being cleared since after the season opener against Arkansas, Daniels’ first action with the Bulldogs didn't come until Saturday night’s 31-24 win.
“Would I have loved him to go out and do that same thing to other teams? Absolutely. But the decisions were made on who we felt gave us the best opportunity to win, and a lot of that had to do with mobility and Stetson’s play,” Smart said. “As Stet struggled, we had to look for other options. He did a great job with his opportunity; he also had some help in receivers that came back, and how Mississippi State played them."
"I do not want to use that to demean how he played," Smart continued. "He played unbelievable. I'm proud as hell for the way he played. But every decision we make is who gives us the best opportunity to win the game, and the men in that room who are making those decisions, they’ve got a lot of experience doing it.”
For weeks, Georgia fans have been wondering what kind of impact quarterback J.T. Daniels would make once he got his opportunity under center for the 13th-ranked Bulldogs.
Following Saturday night's 31-24 win over Mississippi State, early indications are he is capable of making a pretty good one.
His final numbers were certainly impressive. The transfer from Southern Cal couldn't have been more impressive, completing 28 of 38 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns.
“That’s not my decision,” Daniels said when asked why it took him so long to finally get his big chance.
“I’ve been trying to get healthy, get as many reps as I can on the scout team, try to get with the receivers as much as I can, and just try to get ready,” he continued. “But this feels really good. I hadn't taken a snap since Aug. 31, 2019, in a whole other part of the country. I couldn’t be happier.”
So, why did Daniels not get his chance earlier?
“The sample size we had on JT early—which we didn’t have a large sample size on anybody—but he took predominantly more one-reps, he and D’Wan, during fall camp,” Smart said. “His mobility and decision-making weren’t great in that fall period, in those two, three scrimmages we gave him a lot of reps. So we had to go in a direction with somebody, we had to get somebody ready to play. And we felt the mobility and being able to have a running quarterback, which helps your run game when you have a running quarterback, would help you.”
It did not take Daniels long to get started.
His first pass went for 28 yards to George Pickens, who missed the last two games due to a strained pec.
There were more impressive throws to come.
Daniels hooked up on a pair of long throws of 49 and 46 yards to Jermaine Burton, who finished with eight caches for 197 yards and two touchdowns.
Pickens, meanwhile, was targeted quite a bit as well. The sophomore equaled Burton’s receptions with eight for 87 yards and a touchdown. Kearis Jackson pulled in Daniels’ fourth touchdown on a 40-yarder that turned out to be the go-ahead score with just over nine minutes left to play.
“It’s just been a progression,” Daniels said about his knee. “Everything is still sinking in. It started to (sink in) a little bit on the victory formation. I’m just glad to be playing football again.”
No, Daniels was not perfect. Of his four first-half incompletions, three were the result of batted balls.
Daniels picked right up where he left off in the third.
After Georgia took the kickoff, the Daniels and Burton connection hooked up again, this time from 48 yards, for the freshman’s second touchdown, capping an 8-play, 75-yard drive.
“If you’re not going to throw it up to them, don’t recruit them,” Daniels said. “George makes me look good, Jermaine makes me look good, and Kearis makes me look really good when I underthrow the ball down the middle and he makes a big play. If you're going to show me one-on-one with George, Jermaine, and Kearis, I’m probably going to want you to show me you can stop it.”
Smart said he spoke to Daniels after the Florida game, asking if he was ready to take over the starting role.
"He was very adamant that he was confident in his knee, that he was ready to go, that he could make the throws, do the decision-making, and do all the things that weren't getting done in terms of accuracy,” Smart said. “He has extreme confidence in himself, which is what you want at that position, because if you don't, and you doubt yourself, it's really hard. He did a good job of working the receivers, making them believe he was going to get them the ball and make plays and re-energize that group, which is really important.”
For those wondering, yes, the job is his moving forward.
"I'd say it's fair to assume that going forward, given the way he played tonight,” Smart said. “He'll need to continue to work hard and do the things he's done in order to stay in that position. But he certainly showed poise and confidence, and did some good things in the passing game, but (also) in the check game."
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