QB’s decision to follow Smart from Tide to Dogs is rooted in bond he built with coach.
Jake Fromm was going to play for Alabama.
He pledged to the Crimson Tide and coach Nick Saban during his junior year at Houston County High. That commitment lasted approximately five months.
While all of the Fromms grew up rooting for Georgia, they had to accept that Jake didn’t get an offer from then-Bulldogs coach Mark Richt.
With these two teams set to face off for the national championship today at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it seems worthwhile to revisit the story of how Fromm, the Bulldogs’ freshman quarterback, transitioned from Alabama commit to Georgia pledge after Kirby Smart left the Crimson Tide staff to coach the Bulldogs in 2016.
When he flipped from Alabama to Georgia, Fromm called it an “incredibly hard decision to make.”
“We loved the fit with Alabama and Nick Saban,” Emerson Fromm, Jake’s father, told DawgNation in March 2016. “I love him. My wife loves him. Jake loved him. Coach Saban was just a very kind person. Unbelievably humble. We always see the guy you see on TV. That tough coach. But when you meet him in person, he was awesome.”
When he committed to Alabama, Fromm did so because he didn’t have an offer from the home-state school. He loved the Bulldogs, but Richt and his staff made an evaluation that they preferred McEachern High School standout Bailey Hock- man. There was no offer for Fromm to commit to.
“It was a grow-up moment for Jake then,” Emerson Fromm said in March 2016. duck blind. Cell service was Smart made it clear he wasn’t “Georgia didn’t want you. So very spotty, but a text mestrying to take Jake from Alawhat? Alabama wants you. sage could get through. bama.
Alabama is a great place to Jake was asked to call “He said that ‘we know be. He was going to go play Smart. The message came you loved coach Saban and for Alabama.” from Fromm’s high school the University of Alabama,
Alabama wanted Fromm. coach. It was the day after but we just wanted to make It was a great fit with a chamSmart had been named sure that you know that you pionship program. The coach at UGA. are welcome and that you Fromms were so happy with “So we got out of the have an offer from Georgia,’” what they saw in Tuscalo- hole,” Emerson Fromm Emerson Fromm said that osa that a family inventory said from his home in June day. “That was it.” of crimson and white gear 2016. “Jake called (Smart), Smart, then the Alabama was amassed. and he just told him, ‘You defensive coordinator, devel
That journey from Ala- know I just got the job here oped a relationship with bama commit to UGA early at Georgia, and I know they Fromm during those approx- enrollee was framed by a never offered you, and if you imate five months he was a pair of phone calls. ever want to play here, I just Crimson Tide commit. want to make sure you know This was a coach t he that you have that opportu- Fromms knew well on the nity if you want it.’” other end of the call. He
The elder Fromm said was now representing the The first call
Fromm and his father got a message while sitting in a Alabama at this school and play for me.”
Choosing Georgia
Jake Fromm and his father described Kiffin as an “awe- some recruiter” whom they liked a lot. They said many times his ability to design and call plays was off the charts.
Yet a lot of times on unof- ficial visits to Tuscaloosa, they wound up hanging out with Smart, who played at UGA and is from Bainbridge.
Smart had been with Saban at Alabama since 2007, through the early stages of the dynasty. He also enjoyed the relationship building that goes with any program’s recruiting process.
“Lane was an awesome recruiter,” Emerson Fromm said. “We liked him a lot. It was just easier to relate to a guy from Georgia. He was just very personable.”
mart made sure the Fromms knew his first scholarship offer as the coach at Georgia was for Jake. That was significant.
They also noticed Smart went above and beyond what other recruiters did.
They saw him as some- one genuine who wanted quarterback’s dream school. to see their son excel.
Fromm developed that “If Kiffin didn’t always bond because once he com- have that extra time, well mitted to Alabama, his future Kirby did,” Emerson Fromm offensive coordinator, Lane said. “It seemed like he just Kiffin, was charged with always went out of his way pitching the program to to get to know us. other uncommitted targets. “He would talk to us about
That was just part of the South Georgia people we businesslike way that things knew in common. It was an are done in Tuscaloosa. easy fit to strike up a conver-
“The way coach Saban sation with a guy who had had it set up is he told us been turkey hunting and that your recruiter or your deer hunting and duck hunt- position coach is probably ing. Kirby just made it very not going to be here at some easy for us to relate to him.” point,” Emerson Fromm When t hat requested said in 2016. phone call was over, Jake
“So don’t worry so much Fromm was excited. He about the position coach. always had wanted to play Just concentrate on being for Georgia. here and playing here for Emerson Fromm has said
Smany times he knew what Jake eventually would do.
He still needed to visit Georgia and meet Smart’s future offensive coordinator, but first needed to sort out his feelings in a mature way.
The second call
Jake Fromm had to dial up Saban this time. He had to deal with an internal sense of commitment and sticking things out.
This was not an easy decision, regardless of Fromm’s feelings for Smart and Georgia.
Calling Saban and telling him he was not going to play for him was one of the toughest things Jake has ever had to do.
“I knew that was something that Jake maybe did not want to do,” Emerson Fromm said in March 2016. “But out of respect for Coach Saban, he wanted to tell him that himself. That was very tough for him to do.”
Georgia tugged at Fromm’s heartstrings. Alabama tugged at his head with the professional way it treated him throughout the recruiting process.
Fromm eventually called Saban.
It made sense to go with those tugs at his heart.
He articulated that in a tweet March 3, 2016.
“I want to genuinely thank the fans, the coaches and the staff at the University of Alabama for making me feel so incredibly welcomed into their historically great program,” Fromm wrote in his tweet. “I want to thank coach Saban for giving me the opportunity to go play football at Alabama. I’m very thankful for the chance they gave me, and I will forever be grateful for it.”
That was the day Fromm flipped from one team that will play today for the national championship to the other.