How Kirby Smart saved the day and kept Jake Fromm from leaving Georgia
By Ryan Black
Published:
Jake Fromm has already made a name for himself in his short time at Georgia.
In the opener, he came in relief of starting quarterback Jacob Eason to help Georgia to a 31-10 victory. And then last week, Fromm, a true freshman, made his first career start, as Georgia knocked off Notre Dame on the road 20-19.
But according to ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach, it almost never happened.
When Mark Richt’s former coaching staff was still at Georgia, Fromm had his eye on the in-state Bulldogs. But a visit to Athens to meet then-offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer didn’t go well.
“Emerson (Fromm, Jake’s father) said Jake was immediately turned off by Schottenheimer’s first question: ‘Do you have any other offers?'” Schlabach wrote.
“Jake is pretty quick,” Emerson said. “He either likes you or he doesn’t. When Schottenheimer asked him that, it just really turned him off. Jake was just disinterested after that.”
Even though Fromm’s father said his son’s heart was always set on Georgia, he eventually committed to Alabama in 2015. His primary recruiter? Kirby Smart, then the Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator.
As soon as Smart became Georgia’s coach, Fromm’s recruitment changed.
“The day after Smart was hired to coach his alma mater, he texted Emerson Fromm, who was duck hunting with his sons at a lake in Dry Branch, Georgia,” Schlabach wrote. “He called Smart, who told him, ‘I’m the coach at Georgia now, and you’re my first official scholarship offer. I want Jake to be my quarterback.'”
Four months later, Fromm had flipped his commitment to Georgia.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Ryan Black covers Georgia football for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @RyanABlack.
