Jake Fromm will be coming to a mobile device near you in the not-so-distant future.
The Houston County quarterback and 4-star Georgia commitment was one of three players chosen from a national search to be a co-star in a docu-drama that will air on the Verizon Go90.com mobile streaming entertainment platform later this fall.
Accomplished producer Peter Berg is attached to the project. Berg, an actor, director, producer and writer, developed the Friday Night Lights television series that was inspired by the film of the same name he directed.
That series arguably portrayed the sometimes accurate and always entertaining portrayal of high school football on the small screen. In short, the project looks promising given Fromm’s All-American appeal.
It will follow three high school players along their senior seasons and mesh their lives into each episode. Ohio State quarterback commit Tate Martell will also be a part of the series.
Fromm was followed by a film crew Wednesday morning at the Corky Kell Metro Classic luncheon. Those cameras have been a big part of his life over the last month. Members of his community have had to sign waivers to be included.
The UGA commitment sailed through a selection process which included at least two Skype interviews. He’s already taken the crew fishing. That trip resulted in a story that sounds like must-see TV.
“We were out there and shooting and wanted to go fishing,” Fromm said. “So we picked the boat up and there was a water moccasin up under the boat.”
Fromm had his trusty frog gigger with him and one of his buddies who plays football at Kennesaw State wielded the multi-pronged spear like it was Excalibur.
“He stabbed it with the gig,” Fromm said. “We got in on camera, too. So it was pretty fun and also pretty crazy.”
Besides that fishing trip, he’s fired off some shotguns for the cameras. It seems like a natural fit for a player who felt the best part about potentially being football famous one day might be a chance to host his own fishing and hunting show.
“You learn a lot and you grow up fast,” Fromm said. “I feel like I have always grown up a little bit faster than everyone else. This is something I’ve already embraced and I’m used to it. It has been fun and a great experience.”
Fromm on a potential Georgia commit
The first 10 days of July were busy for the Class of 2017 at Georgia on the commitment front, but they’ve stalled of late. Devonte Wyatt was a huge (not to mentioned underrated) pick-up, but 5-star safety JaCoby Stevens wiggled out of Georgia’s grasp to commit to LSU.
Fromm’s perspective parallels his calm-yet-confident status on the field.
“At the end of the day it is all going to work itself out,” Fromm said. “We’re going to get guys that want to play for Georgia. That’s a big thing for me and all the guys around me. I want them to be there and embrace the grind it takes to be great in the SEC and enjoy it. I think we’re doing a great job of that recruiting the right people. At the end of the day, we’re going to have some real players in this class. Just wait.”
He will travel to Georgia on Saturday to take in practice. The Bulldogs are also chasing 4-star offensive guard Deontrey Hill from Houston County, too. That’s Fromm’s blind-side protector at left tackle on Friday night.
“(Deontrey) and I are the closest right now we have ever been,” Fromm said. “I am so glad and so blessed to have him as a friend and also guarding my backside this year. It is going to be fun.”
Fromm said he told Hill to enjoy the recruiting process.
“But it is still early for him with his thought process and he doesn’t have to have it all figured out now,” Fromm said. “But at the end of the day, I think I know where he is going to be in college. He’s going to be with me and I’m excited for him.”
That’s a big prediction for another monster-sized lineman for Sam Pittman. Hill, at nearly 6-foot-4 and 325 pounds, is rated as the nation’s No. 11 offensive tackle and No. 103 overall prospect for 2018.
That position ranking does not reflect that Hill is very likely to be a guard on Saturdays.
The latest on Jamyest Williams
Jamyest Williams announced this month he will be committing on Aug. 27. That will only be hours before the nationally-televised game between Grayson High and IMG Academy from Florida.
When the 4-star cornerback made those plans known, it came amidst a flurry of predictions for the Athens native to choose South Carolina. There have been 30 straight predictions on the 247Sports Crystal Ball for Williams to go to South Carolina since July 8.
Some might call that a trend, but it seems like an 18-wheeler full of the obvious coming down the information superhighway. It sort of feels like that guy at the movies blurting out the ending before the crime scene tape has gone up.
I asked Williams about that on Wednesday at the Corky Kell Classic luncheon. Has his decision already been made?
“Not quite,” Williams said. “Not quite yet. My Dad and I think we have our decision but when next week comes it is really going to hit us. Like is this it? Is this really it? And then we will make our decision.”
When that time comes, Williams does not see himself as a guy who would flip.
“When I commit, I’ll be 95 percent committed,” Williams said. “That other five percent I will leave for the official visits to maybe sway me if I actually see something else I really like from another school. But when I make that commitment, I’ll be mainly 95 percent committed.”
He will take all five of his official visits after he commits. Don’t look for him to take those to all of his Top 5 schools. To refresh, those schools were Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State South Carolina and Tennessee.
Don’t expect Georgia to get one of those officials.
“I won’t get too much out of being there,” Williams said. “I’ve been there so many times. I know everything about Georgia. I’ve talked to the academic ladies. I’ve been all around the campus and all around the town. I really grew up in Athens so it wouldn’t be much new for me to really experience on an official visit.”
Let’s be sure not to construe his statement as anything negative. He just knows Georgia well enough to make a decision. He has very few questions about life as a Bulldog and said he basically also felt the same way about Clemson, South Carolina and Tennessee. When players have seen what they need to in order to make their decisions, that’s when they get ready to commit.
Why South Carolina? Williams dismissed the thinking it was because the depth chart in Columbia sets up better for a player with his vast skill set to play right away there compared to his other finalists.
“Every school that is in my Top 5 really needs DBs, too,” he said. “The reason I have South Carolina in my Top 5 is my relationship with (Travaris Robinson) and (Will) Muschamp and the way they will develop me as a player. That’s the same way I feel about (Georgia defensive coordinator) coach (Mel) Tucker in Athens. I know he can really develop me into a great player as well, too.”
Williams followed that thought with the same sentiment for Clemson defensive backs coach Mike Reed and his peer Willie Martinez at Tennessee.
He also said he hasn’t even whittled down his Top 5 to even two or three schools in his mind thus far.
The senior cornerback will be scary good at the next level. I’ve seen enough of Williams over the last year to place him among the Top 15 high school players I’ve seen. He just makes play after play.
Be sure to note I’ve intentionally waited to remind folks he’s 5-foot-9 until this very spot. Why? Because I feel Williams is so good at what he does it should no longer be seen as a major factor in his player evaluation. See Darrell Green. See Tyrann “The Honey Badger” Mathieu.
Williams seems set to join those two men in the stellar 5-foot-9 defensive back club. Just to name a few. Remember Tim Jennings? The always-overlooked Georgia great was listed at 5-foot-8 on NFL rosters.
4-star safety Xavier McKinney on Georgia
Roswell 4-star safety Xavier McKinney is a little taller (right at 6-foot-1) and five pounds thicker (up to 195) for his senior season. The one-time Alabama commit opened up his recruiting this summer. He’s rated as the nation’s No. 11 safety and No. 117 overall prospect for 2017.
Is he going to go to Clemson? His Roswell teammate LeAnthony Williams, Jr. is committed there. Tre Lamar, a former Hornet, signed with Clemson last year.
“They want me to make the decision I want to make for myself,” McKinney said. “They are not all Clemson, Clemson, Clemson all the time with all this. They are letting me make my own decision.”
McKinney pumped the breaks on the internet chatter he’s already bound for the ACC.
“People kind of assume a lot of things and some things that are not true,” he said. “Some people say all that stuff to just have it out there. I’m taking my time with it. I’m not singling out any one school because my teammates are already going there. I’ll make my decision based on what’s best for me and not what was the best thing for them.”
He’s set to enroll early in January. How does he feel about Georgia?
“The Georgia commits I know have been on me hard since I de-committed,” McKinney said. “I have a couple of good friends committed to Georgia and they’ve been on me quite hard to come play with them.”
Trey Blount, Richard LeCounte III and William Poole III have reached out to join them in Athens. He said on Wednesday that “Georgia has a shot” and “everybody has a shot right now with me.”
McKinney worked hard over the summer to get the credits to graduate early and said “it has been more than a minute” since he was on any campus. He went to see Auburn this summer and that was the only school he could remember visiting of late.
The Under Armour All-American will make his decision known at that event. He does plan to take all of his official visits but has yet to nail any of those down. He did say he knows Clemson the best out of all the schools which are recruiting him.
He knows what will make up his mind.
“It will just be the atmosphere and where and who I feel like I fit in with the most,” he said.
The senior plans to be at the Auburn-Clemson game to begin the season. That’s the only game he knows he’ll attend at this point. The Roswell standout said Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia and Miami are talking to him the most right now.
“I know what I’m doing and I know what I’m going to do eventually but that is something for me right now and not for everyone else to know,” he said.
Jeff Sentell covers UGA football and UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges. Unless otherwise indicated, player rankings and ratings are from the 247Sports Composite.