Smart: Since Notre Dame win, Fromm has gotten 'monkey off his back'

Coming out of Saturday’s 20-19 win over Notre Dame, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said he has been pleased with what he has seen from freshman quarterback Jake Fromm.

Fromm completed 16-of-29 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown but also had an interception near the end of the first half of the victory. During the past two practices, Smart has seen further improvement, which may have come with Fromm getting his first true road test at the college level out of the way.

“I feel like the last two days he’s been a little more crisp,” Smart said. “I almost feel there’s a monkey off his back type deal, where he can relax and go play a little bit. He seems more confident. He’s just got to make good decisions and play within the offense.”

Fromm became Georgia’s starter at quarterback after sophomore Jacob Eason suffered a left knee injury on the third series against Appalachian State. In relief, Fromm helped Georgia jump out to a three-touchdown lead, which allowed the Bulldogs to coast to a 31-10 win over the Mountaineers.

While he noted Fromm’s lost fumble and interception against the Fighting Irish were preventable, Smart said his young quarterback managed the win well and never let the moment get too big for him.

With that particular game out of the way, Smart is happy with what he has seen thus far over the past couple of days. He hopes it continues when Georgia takes on Samford on Saturday.

“I think the expectation is that he’s going to play winning football at the quarterback position, which is don’t turn the ball over, put us in the right plays and get the ball to the play-makers,” Smart said. “That doesn’t change with games to me. I certainly hope his confidence grows but I don’t think the expectations change.”

This story was originally published September 13, 2017 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Smart: Since Notre Dame win, Fromm has gotten 'monkey off his back'."