Good news Georgia fans, D’Wan Mathis is expected to be ready to return once spring practice begins in Athens.

That’s great news on several levels as the young Bulldog quarterback had to undergo emergency brain surgery last spring as Georgia’s training staff noticed signs of a cyst in Mathis’ brain. Mathis was then rushed to the emergency room and operated on shortly thereafter.

While that revelation had to have been terrifying for the quarterback and his family, Georgia’s staff very well could have saved the young man’s life.

Now nearly a year removed from that setback, Mathis is ready to return to the practice field according to Kirby Smart.

“He’s been cleared, he’ll be able to practice,” Smart recently said according to Anthony Dasher of UGASports. “Coach Monken had been watching tape of him before he got injured and he’s excited about him and thinks he’s’s going to be in the midst of that competition. He’s really a talented young man.”

In addition to the obvious good news of Mathis’ recovery from his surgery, the quarterback’s return cannot be overstated for the Bulldogs heading into the 2020 season. While he may not have been cleared to compete until now, Mathis will have more experience in Athens than quarterback on Georgia’s roster outside of Stetson Bennett.

While many will be penciling in Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman as Georgia’s starting quarterback entering the spring, he still has to earn the starting job left open by Jake Fromm’s decision to declare early for the 2020 NFL Draft. Keep in mind, Mathis was a four-star signee in the 2019 recruiting cycle and was headed to Ohio State before Justin Fields arrived in Columbus.

Newman and true freshman Carson Beck may be receiving the most hype among Georgia’s quarterbacks heading into 2020 but it would be unwise to completely rule out Mathis from emerging as the team’s best option under center exiting spring practice.