Smart speaks about the prospect of freshman Jake Fromm redshirting

If anything happens to Jacob Eason, Jake Fromm is the next quarterback in.

That is at least what Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said about his true freshman quarterback Saturday. Fromm, who played high school football at Houston County, spent the entire spring as the No. 2 quarterback.

But when Brice Ramsey, who left the program momentarily, elected to rejoin Georgia during the summer, it caused at least an outside conversation as to whether Fromm would redshirt.

Smart said that isn’t a discussion the team is having at the moment. But from what Smart at least indicated, Ramsey would have to win the backup job for Fromm to have a shot at redshirting.

“As of today, he’s one play away from playing,” Smart said. “We don’t think like that. We don’t think like, ‘Oh we’re going to redshirt this guy.’ I don’t think that’s the way to really look at it.”

One thing is certain: Jacob Eason is Georgia’s starting quarterback. In the moments reporters have been allowed to observe practice, Eason certainly looks the part of an improved quarterback. Passes are crisp and have mostly been accurate, although this has been against air.

At SEC Media Days in July, Smart reiterated what was known throughout the spring, which is that Eason is the sure-fire No. 1 quarterback.

While there isn’t a competition for the No. 1 quarterback job, the backup spot is technically still up for grabs. Fromm has been the second quarterback up through the first week of practice. If this continues, it’s highly unlikely – unless Eason takes every snap this season – that Fromm would receive a redshirt.

“I think it’s more of can Jake continue to grow at the rate he’s going, can he make decisions and throws we want him to make? Can he run the offense, execute the offense and lead the offense in the right way?” Smart said. “If he continues to do those things he’s competing for everything, not just for who’s the backup, who’s third, are we redshirting him – we don’t really get into that analysis. We look at it as what’s the best chance to have him ready to play by the first game.”

Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said he has enjoyed the quarterback room thus far, stating he was “tickled to death” that Ramsey decided to return.

Just as much, Chaney said he has been impressed with Fromm since his arrival to the team in January.

“Jake Fromm is a competitive kid as you all well know,” Chaney said. “We’ve all watched him compete. He goes out there and competes every day. Throughout, with all the competition we have, we’re all going to get better, including me. That’s a good thing about that room. I like it. It’s competitive.”

This story was originally published August 5, 2017 at 12:29 PM with the headline "Smart speaks about the prospect of freshman Jake Fromm redshirting ."