![Georgia quarterback JT Daniels addresses the media during SEC Media Days at the Hyatt Regency in Hoover, Ala., Tuesday, July 20, 2021. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]Sec Media Days Georgia](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/1c114d527ebdf90145a393dd63b0b3724878f9eae117772f29bc0e582c180398.jpg "Georgia quarterback JT Daniels addresses the media during SEC Media Days at the Hyatt Regency in Hoover, Ala., Tuesday, July 20, 2021. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]Sec Media Days Georgia")
Let’s keep it real, if Daniels was something Clemson football should be scared of, USC would never have let him get away and he would have had better options than landing in Athens playing for a head coach whose short resume reads as a warning of how not to win a national title.
In four games last year for UGA, Daniels completed an impressive 67 percent of his throws for a little over 1,200 yards with 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Not bad but nothing to brag about.
There are some that believe Ole Miss QB Matt Corral, Alabama QB Bryce Young and LSU QB Myles Brennan, and Florida’s Emory Jones are all better and say what you want about the ACC but the quarterbacks in the ACC are far superior to those in the SEC.
FWIW JT Daniels has IT when it comes to being a QB1. That’s my two cents. Take it or leave it. #UGA #Dawgs #SECMD21
— Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) July 20, 2021
JT Daniels isn’t proven enough to worry Clemson football in the opener
Sure, that comes off really cocky, but in his four games last season, the only defense he played ranked in the Top 50 was Cincinnati and that was in UGA’s bowl game. He also only threw one touchdown in that game.
The other defenses that he faced in 2020 – Mississippi State (52nd overall), Missouri (66th overall), and South Carolina (105th overall).
Sure, the Dawgs fan base probably feels really good given that in their last three College Playoff games, the Clemson football defense has surrendered more than 1,700 yards and 15 touchdowns. Let’s not fool ourselves, this UGA offense is not 2019/2020 Ohio State good nor is it even close to 2019 LSU elite.
Daniels is not Justin Fields nor is he Joe Burrow and that is the level of quarterbacks that it takes to put those types of yards up against the TIgers.
UGA fans are really cocky about a guy that has not seen an elite defense yet in his three years as a college football player and one that will be without his best playmaker on offense to start the year. Could he come out and torch the Clemson football defense?
Of course he could, but unlike his time at the real USC combined with his four starts at UGA, Daniels will not have forever in the pocket to throw the ball.
Clemson football has the deepest and most talented defensive line in college football – yes, slightly better than UGA – and they will make it very uncomfortable for Daniels all night long.