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State of Georgia QBs will help decide SEC title, possibly national title
By Keith Farner
Published:
Scan the SEC and top teams around the country and they have one thing in common at quarterback: Their hometown is in the state of Georgia.
Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs from Alpharetta and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson from Gainesville — each team already ranked in the top 15 of early national polls — are two of the higher profile signal callers, and they’re signing away from the home state Bulldogs played a major factor in Jacob Eason signing with Georgia.
The Georgia depth chart isn’t the only place in the SEC to find a Peach State native. Potential South Carolina starter Lorenzo Nunez from Kennesaw is another candidate. Nunez established himself as a contender for the starting job after he was ranked just 32nd in Georgia among recruits in the 2015 class, according to 247 Sports.
Watson (below) leads Vegas odds to win this year’s Heisman Trophy in early odds at 5-1.
NFL Media analyst Lance Zierlein recently ranked Watson No. 1 among college football quarterbacks to watch this season. Zierlein wrote that Watson is a true dual threat QB after he had 35 passing touchdowns and 12 rushing TDs last season, along with 1,105 rushing yards. And while Zierlein questioned Dobbs’ accuracy and consistency, he added, “there is no denying Dobbs’ ability to affect a game with his run/pass ability.”
Many of Watson’s accolades stem from being Clemson’s first Heisman Trophy finalist, where he finished third in the balloting last year. He is 18-2 as a starter and Clemson is 17-1 when he finishes a game healthy. Last season he led the ACC in passing at 4,104 yards and was fifth in the league with 1,105 rushing yards, tops among quarterbacks.
Dobbs was fifth in the SEC in passing last season with 2,291 yards and threw 15 touchdown passes against just five interceptions. He was 14th in the SEC in rushing last season with 671 yards and seventh in rushing touchdowns with 11.
Before Eason wins the Georgia job as expected, Greyson Lambert of Jesup and Brice Ramsey of Kingsland could see time. Lambert started last year to mixed results and it was the recruitment of Ramsey (below) that largely kept Georgia’s coaches’ attention away from Watson.
Former SEC quarterbacks include Flowery Branch’s Connor Shaw (South Carolina), Marietta’s Anthony Jennings (LSU) and Watkinsville’s Zach Mettenberger (Georgia/LSU) and Ellenwood’s Johnny McCrary (Vanderbilt transfer). They showed a range of talent, from being one of their school’s all-time best quarterbacks, to transferring, to somewhere in between.
All of these quarterbacks are simply the latest in what has become a long list of players from Georgia flourishing under the bright lights.
Cam Newton from Westlake won the 2010 Heisman Trophy and national title, while Nick Marshall of Wilcox County also excelled at Auburn. Blake Sims, who hails from the same high school as Watson, led Alabama to the No. 1 inaugural playoff ranking two years ago.
Finding talented quarterbacks in Georgia is nothing new and that list includes 1993 Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward of Thomasville.
More could be on the way.
Two of the top 18 quarterbacks in the 2016 signing class could continue the trend. Jawon Pass from Columbus picked Louisville and Zerrick Cooper from Jonesboro chose Clemson.
Homegrown Jake Fromm, the No. 3-ranked pro-style passer in the 2017 class, has committed to Georgia.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
