Fifth-ranked Georgia settles on Daniels at quarterback

JT Daniels starred for a powerhouse team in high school.

He launched his college career at one of the most storied programs in the nation.

Yet none of that quite prepared this laid-back Californian for the passion that goes along with playing for the Georgia Bulldogs, for playing in the Southeastern Conference.

“Football is just another thing on the West Coast vs. football being THE thing here,” Daniels said. “I still remember the first time me and my family drove from the Atlanta airport to Athens and seeing all the Georgia Bulldog flags flying everywhere, to experience what it's like for football to be such a main focal point. I've loved it ever since I got here."

Now, in what very well could be his only full season as Georgia's starting quarterback, the Bulldogs and their red-and-black faithful are optimistic that Daniels can lead them to an elusive national championship.

He gave them a tantalizing glimpse of what he can accomplish after moving to the top of the depth chart late in the pandemic-plagued 2020 season.

Daniels guided the Bulldogs to four straight victories, throwing for 401 yards and four touchdowns in his Georgia debut against Mississippi State and capping off the season by rallying the team to a last-second triumph over Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl.

But none of those opponents was on the level of Georgia's season opener Saturday, when the No. 5 Bulldogs take on the third-ranked Clemson Tigers in Charlotte.

If Daniels is hyped for the moment, it doesn't show. “I approach it the same way I do anybody else — it's just another game of football,” he insisted. “It's cool to have a game like this in Week 1. But if we beat Clemson by 100 and lose the rest of the season, we're not going to make it to the SEC (championship). And if Clemson wins by 100, we can still win the SEC if everything else goes out way.”

It's clear this is the sort of game that Daniels has long expected to play a leading tole in, going back his days at Mater Dei High School near Los Angeles.

The private school has produced a plethora of top athletes across a wide range of sports, so there was plenty of attention on Daniels after he threw for more than 12,000 yards — with an astonishing 152 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions — over his high school career.

Daniels was one of the nation's top recruits — No. 1 on some lists — when he signed with Southern California ahead of the 2018 season. He quickly locked down the No. 1 job in preseason camp to become the just the second true freshman quarterback to start for the Trojans in his first game.