No thanks, coach
SEC title game offers chance to spotlight the QB who said ‘no’ to Nick Saban.
ATHENS, Ga. — Those who follow the twists and turns, commitments and decommitments, of college-football recruiting knew it was a big deal when Jake Fromm, then a high-school junior, switched his pledge from Alabama to Georgia in March 2016.
But no one could have known just how soon and significantly Fromm’s path would again — and again — intersect with Alabama’s.
On Saturday, for the second time in 11 months, Fromm will quarterback Georgia in a high-stakes game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta against the Crimson Tide. In January, it was for the national championship. This time, it will be for the SEC championship.
It’s time to recall the phone call less than three years ago when a 17-year-old Fromm told Alabama coach Nick Saban of his decision to rescind his commitment to the Crimson Tide.
“We had a very long conversation ... anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour,” Fromm recalled this week. “It was a tough one. It was probably one of the hardest things I’d had to do.
“Telling him I was going to come here — I’m sure he probably didn’t like that very much. But it was just a ‘me’ decision and a family decision and something that has worked out for me so far.”
Things have worked out for Alabama, too, of course. Within days of Fromm’s flip,
the Crimson Tide offered a scholarship to another quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. He came off the bench to rally Bama to a 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia in last season’s national championship game, will lead the Tide against the Bulldogs on Saturday and is favored to win the Heisman Trophy.
Fromm passes on the question of how differently things might have turned out for both quarterbacks if not for his decommitment in March
2016.
“I have no idea,” Fromm said. “We’re both here now, playing in this game, so let’s go.”
Long story short: Fromm committed to Alabama in October 2015, his junior season at Houston County High, in large part because he didn’t have an offer from the homestate Bulldogs. Kirby Smart, then the Alabama defensive coordinator, whom Fromm had gotten to know during Bama’s recruitment of him, was hired as Georgia’s coach in December 2015. Smart quickly let Fromm know he was wanted at Georgia. Fromm switched his commitment on March 3, 2016, and enrolled at UGA in January 2017, the same month Tagovailoa enrolled at Alabama.
Interesting, albeit moot, question: Would Tagovailoa be at Alabama if Fromm hadn’t flipped to Georgia?
“Honestly, I’m not too sure,” Tagovailoa said this week on a conference call. “I didn’t know that Jake was committed [to Alabama] before I committed. And my father kind of implied that we should come here. I thought it would be easier for us as a family on the West Coast, but it was more so a family decision to come to [Alabama]. And it’s one of those things where it’s cultural. It’s what my parents wanted more than what I wanted, you know? And it’s worked out great.”
As he studies Fromm in preparation for Saturday’s game, Saban sees the growth of the quarterback.
“Jake does a great job of managing their offense,” Saban said on a conference call. “He’s very accurate, very poised in the way he executes, and he’s got a lot of confidence in the system and scheme and does a good job of helping all the skill players that they have make plays, whether it’s running or throwing.”
Fromm will carry a 23-3 record as Georgia’s starting quarterback into Saturday’s game.