Nope. He simply wanted to go somewhere else where he could play. Georgia wasn't going to sit Bennett after he won it all. No sane Coach would. Give that kid some credit...when he got his chance he capitalized on it. I seem to remember a QB with the last name of Brady who also took advantage of a similar situation in New England?
No one who understands chemistry on a football team would sit a winning Championship QB. The guy Brady replaced left for Buffalo. Likewise, JT went to another school where he could play.
He found a great home waiting for him in Almost Heaven...Wild, Wonderful West Virginia. BTW, he LOVES it here!
JT Daniels headed to West Virginia, praises Georgia football fans
ATHENS — Georgia quarterback JT Daniels is committing to transfer to West Virginia and play for the Mountaineers in the Big 12 this upcoming season, according to a source with direct knowledge.www.dawgnation.com
ATHENS — Georgia quarterback JT Daniels is committing to transfer to West Virginia and play for the Mountaineers in the Big 12 this upcoming season, according to a source with direct knowledge.
Daniels will graduate from UGA in May with a degree in psychology, making him immediately eligible as a graduate transfer. Daniels visited West Virginia last weekend.
“I love Georgia and Georgia has always loved me since I’ve been here,” Daniels told ESPN’s Pete Thamel, who also reported the news on Wednesday morning. “It’s been a really, really good and supportive fan base. I’m very, very thankful. I had no problems adjusting. I wouldn’t even consider it an adjustment. Everyone here has been good and honest and good people.”
Daniels was 7-0 as Georgia’s starting quarterback in his two seasons with the program, setting school marks for passing efficiency and yards per attempt before being sidelined by upper-body injuries last fall that led to Stetson Bennett becoming the quarterback.
West Virginia is coming off a 6-7 season under fourth-year coach Neal Brown, who hired former record-setting quarterback Graham Harrell from Southern Cal in January.
“It definitely helped knowing Graham coming into it and having a really good relationship with him,” Daniels said. “Knowing that I trust that offense and that system, and I believe in it. I also feel really comfortable with Coach Brown and the ideas that he has and the way that he runs a program.”
Daniels fits well in Harrell’s quick-strike system, capable of directing an offense from the line of scrimmage with passing accuracy at all three levels into the defense.
The Mountaineers return all five starters on their offensive line and feature talent at the wideout position.
In the one game under Harrell, the 2019 season opener with Fresno State, Daniels directed the offense to more than 300 yards in the first half before suffering a torn ACL in the second quarter and missing the remainder of the season.
Then-freshman Kedon Slovis replaced Daniels in the Trojans’ offense in 2019 and went on to have a Freshman All-American campaign.
As fate would have it, Slovis transferred to Pitt, the team Daniels and West Virginia will open the season against on Sept. 1 in Heinz Stadium in Pittsburgh.
Daniels left USC in the spring of 2020, interviewing several head coaches and offensive coordinators before choosing Georgia based on conversations with Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
WATCH: Mother of JT Daniels explains how she knew her son would pick Kirby Smart
Daniels started the final four games of the 2020 season, passing for more than 400 yards in his first outing, and was the highest-rated returning quarterback in the nation.
At this point last year, was Georgia’s starting quarterback, directing a Pro-Style spread offense that Smart said was ahead of what proved to be a historically dominant defense before receiver George Pickens went down with a knee injury.
RELATED: JT Daniels lights up 2021 G-Day, out-duels Carson Beck
Daniels suffered an upper-body injury in the final fall scrimmage. The injury was kept hidden from the media but appeared to limit Daniels in the opening game against Clemson, as he donned a flak jacket for the 10-3 win over a Tigers team that finished second in the nation in scoring defense.
Daniels attempted to play through the injury in September, further aggravating it with an oblique injury and then lat sprain that led him to miss three games.
In his final start for Georga, against Vanderbilt, Daniels opened the game 9-of-10 passing to lead Georgia to a 35-0 first-quarter lead before exiting the contest after aggravating the upper-body injury.
Smart told ESPN leading up to the game with Florida he was not sure which quarterback on his team was better, Daniels or Bennett.
“I’m not sure we know who the better one is based on which game plan we have,” Smart said in the ESPN interview.
“There are teams we play that we have to be able to use the quarterback in the run game. Well, that’s Stetson. There are teams we play that you have to get the ball out quickly and be really accurate. That’s JT.”
Smart ultimately stuck with Bennett, with Daniels providing assistance and support from the sideline as the Bulldogs went on to win the CFP Championship Game.
Daniels had visited Oregon State and Missouri prior to choosing West Virginia, with Tigers’ coach Eli Drinkwitz the first to call the former Georgia QB when he entered the portal on Jan. 19.
Daniels is the third 5-star quarterback to transfer out of Smart’s Georgia program, joining Jacob Eason and Justin Fields. He is also the third 5-star recruit who played at UGA to enter the NCAA transfer portal this spring, joining Amarius Mims and Clay Webb, who entered the portal on Sunday.
Pay attention to me boy!I'm not just talkin' to hear my head roar. That's what I've been - I say, that's what I've been telling you, boy! Go, I say, go away, boy, you bother me.
