All eyes will be on Dylan Fromm, Jadin Daniels on Friday night

Jadin Daniels and Dylan Fromm have a lot in common entering this season.

They’re both juniors with their respective programs — Daniels with Northside and Fromm with Warner Robins.

They both will make their first start Friday night in their season openers — which happen to come against each other in the annual Eagles-Demons showdown at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.

And they both have a really good quarterback they can lean on for advice — former Northside standout and current Georgia Tech freshman Tobias Oliver for Daniels and former Houston County standout and current Georgia freshman (and older brother) Jake for Dylan.

“Biggest game of the year in the first game. First official game as a Demon, just going to be really excited to go out there and play,” said the younger Fromm, who transferred from Houston County for this school year. “There’s always nerves. Sometimes nerves are good; sometimes they’re bad, but you can’t really think about it. You can’t put pressure on yourself.”

Oh, and it just happens to be the 60th edition of Northside versus Warner Robins. The Demons lead the all-time series 34-25, although the Eagles have won the past three games.

“Actually, I’m very excited, very excited to go out here and have fun and compete,” Daniels said. “I’m very excited. It’s a blessing because many people don’t get the opportunity to play and be in this position, so it’s a blessing.

“I’m nervous but not that nervous. I’m just very excited to play.”

Daniels said he has talked to Oliver about this game and about the upcoming season and got some solid advice.

“Don’t panic, just stay focused,” Daniels said of what Oliver told him. “Read, do what you’ve got to do and lead the team and be a great leader.”

Both head coaches are ready to see their new quarterbacks in action. Northside finished 11-3 last year and reached the GHSA Class 6A semifinals with Oliver running the show.

But Kevin Kinsler isn’t concerned about Daniels taking over that role.

“Well, no more than the other seven first-time starters on offense. We’ve got a lot of first-time starters, and I’m sure they’ll have a lot of first-time starters,” Kinsler said. “Quarterback is kind of pivotal, but so is that guy who’s at right guard and the guy who’s at left tackle, so there’s going to be a lot of first-time starters out there. You worry about the atmosphere and that they can kind of get stage fright, but that’s common. You just try to prepare them as good as you can and hope that first time they get hit it knocks all the jitters out.

“The biggest thing is I just expect him to go out and execute and compete, and that’s the biggest thing is just compete and give us chances to win. I’m not going to ask more of him than I would of anyone else, just go out and give everything he’s got for Northside High School and continue to compete. If he’ll do that, he’ll be fine.”

Warner Robins finished 3-8 last season but also reached the playoffs — in Class 5A — in head coach Mike Chastain’s first season as its head coach. The Demons have a ton of talent surrounding Fromm, which should ease his transition to the program.

“You say first start, but we’ve competed all summer. Yeah, it’s a big game, but he played last week in a scrimmage game, and he’s done well,” Chastain said. “He’s been around big-time atmospheres, and he’s ready. He’s a guy that loves the game, loves the sport, loves competing, period, and there’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll thrive in that, and that won’t be a probably in the game at all.

“We’ve got a lot of good players around him, and they’re ready for this season, as well.”

Fromm doesn’t seem concerned, either, and the support from his older brother is helping him.

“I love Warner Robins, a great tradition, a lot of school spirit. I love it,” Fromm said. “I can’t wait to go out there and play Friday. (Jake) texts me about every day, always being supportive. He’s excited for me, and it’s always good to know he’s still looking out for me.”

A lot of people will be looking out for Daniels and Fromm on Friday to see how they handle their first start in such a big game.

This story was originally published August 17, 2017 at 9:19 AM with the headline "All eyes will be on Dylan Fromm, Jadin Daniels on Friday night."