Young QBs making an immediate impact
There’s little doubt a freshman quarterback will win a national championship soon
ATLANTA — No experience required.
Jalen Hurts came within a single second of leading Alabama to a national football championship in his freshman season. Now, Jake Fromm is on the cusp of a title in his first year at Georgia.
Long gone are the days when a young quarterback needed to ride the bench for a season or two, getting up to speed on a college system much more intricate than what he ran in high school. Even the most successful programs in the land are willing to turn their offence over to an 18-year-old as soon as he steps on campus. “There’s a completely different mindset now about playing young players,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
Jamelle Holieway remains the only true freshman quarterback to lead a team to the national title in the modern era, taking over at Oklahoma in 1985 after Troy Aikman was injured. Hurts came achingly close a year ago, when Alabama lost to Clemson 35-31 on a lastsecond touchdown pass in the championship game. Fromm has a chance to match Holieway’s feat on Monday night, but he’ll have to get by Hurts when the Bulldogs (13-1) meet the Crimson Tide (12-1) in an all-Southeastern Conference title game.
Saban points to an increased emphasis on passing games and spread offences at the high school level, which has fast-forwarded the development of top quarterback prospects.
Fromm threw for 12,745 yards and 116 touchdowns during his four years at Houston County High School in central Georgia.
“We would throw it 30, 40 times, even 50 times,” he remembered. “The college offence is a little more wordy. But the passing schemes and the coverages and all that, it’s just about all the same. At the end of the day, one guy’s running a route, if he’s open, you throw it to him. It’s not too hard.”
Of course, that’s overlooking all the hard work Fromm put in — Hurts, too — to get to this moment.
“He came in early most mornings during the off-season to throw in quarterback drills,” said Von Lassiter, who was Fromm’s high school coach.
“In season, he came in and went to class, but after lunch he was with the football coaches for the rest of the day. He would watch video, lift weights, we fed ’em, and then we practised. Then he watched video afterward.”
Hurts and Fromm have clearly benefited from playing on teams with stellar defences, stout running games and standout special teams. They have settled into the role of game managers, going to the air when necessary but always very cognizant of avoiding the big mistake. In a way, that demonstrates their maturity even better than some gaudy numbers.
“You’ve got be a good decisionmaker,” said Brian Daboll, the third offensive co-ordinator Hurts has worked with during his two seasons at Alabama. “What am I going to gain from this play versus what can it cost us? He’s a good risk-reward manager with the football, does a good job of protecting it in the pocket with two hands. He’s a runner, too. But obviously a huge component in terms of offensive football is doing a good job protecting the football.”
It seems inevitable that a freshman quarterback will be celebrating a national championship sometime in the very near future.
It almost happened last season. It could happen Monday night. If not then, surely in the next few seasons.
“The kids are throwing the ball at higher level. The offences are more sophisticated,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said.
“You’ve got all these things that help quarterbacks grow and become better players.”