Welcome to the Question of the Day, where our writers answer (or try to answer) the best questions submitted by Georgia fans. If you’d like to submit a question, please email us at ugaquestionoftheday@gmail.com. Or you can tweet us here and here. Look for the Question of the Day every Monday through Friday.

UGA Journalism Grad and die-hard Bulldog fan here. So, I’ve been reading and listening to all the hype around Justin Fields, which to me sounds like a lot of giddy noise right now, and it got me thinking. One, there is no way Fromm simply lies down and gets whooped by a new pup, right? And two, once Fromm is easily cemented as this year’s starter and bone fide leader (please excuse the dog pun), can and will he do what Drew Brees did in his sophomore season under the guidance and play calling of Jim Chaney? 

Drew’s numbers were pretty darn good in 1998 and one has to think Fromm, being very similar in size and skill set (throwing mechanics, leadership, awareness, etc.) that he will rip the SEC East a friendly new one this upcoming season. So, my question for you savvy football writing gurus is this: Based on the Brees 1998 stats, how do you see Fromm’s final football figures shaping up in 2018? Can you fill in the blanks?

Brees Statistics: 

Games: 13 Completions: 361 Attempts: 569 Yards: 3983 Yards per Attempt: 7.0 TDs: 39 INTs: 20 Rating: 137.8

Fromm Statistics: 

Games: ? Completions: ? Attempts: ? Yards: ? Yards per Attempt: ? TD’s: ? INT’s: ? Rating: ? 

Thanks guys. Have a great day. – Jason Corbin

Oh, I always enjoy a chance to answer with predicted numbers, rather than in-depth analysis that requires some thought and research. Especially on a Monday.

This is Justin Fields’ birthday, by the way, so it seems almost rude to dispense with the notion that he will beat out Fromm for the starting position. But for the sake of your question, Jason, we will do that. And I think it’s a fairly safe assumption that Fromm won’t be beat out purely on a competitive basis. His work ethic and intelligence will prevent that. He could get hurt, or Fields could prove to be just that great.

But let’s go with Fromm holding onto the job and predict those numbers.

Games: 14 Completions: 220 Attempts: 350 Yards: 2,950 Yards per Attempt: 8.42 TD’s: 29 INT’s: 11 Rating: 154.7

The premise for this question was Fromm will see a statistical surge because he’ll be working with Chaney for a second straight year, as Brees did. But that was 20 years ago. There are two other reasons I see increases: The pass will be more important to the offense than last year, and Georgia will be in more close games.

The latter point is very underrated when it comes to Georgia’s passing stats in 2017. There was really only one regular-season game for Georgia in which the outcome was still in doubt in the fourth quarter: Notre Dame. And of course there was the first Auburn game, when Georgia was way behind. Otherwise, Georgia was handing the ball off most of the time.

I see this as a year that could compare favorably with Aaron Murray’s sophomore year: Georgia went 10-4 that year, was involved in a mish-mash of blowouts and close games, and had a good but inconsistent running game. (That was the year Isaiah Crowell was SEC Freshman of the Year, but struggled down the stretch, along with all the tailbacks.) Georgia should have a better running game this year, though it may not carry the offense. So basically I took the easy way out and split the difference between Fromm’s freshman year and Murray’s sophomore year.

The other wild card here is that Fields, while not winning the starting job, cuts into Fromm’s playing time. That’s a scenario I wouldn’t rule out.

Have a question for beat writers Chip Towers and Seth Emerson? E-mail us at ugaquestionoftheday@gmail.com.