WATCH: One big difference between 2018, 2020 Georgia football quarterback battles

Georgia football once again finds itself with two talented quarterback options entering a season.

The Bulldogs had brought in Jamie Newman in January, and for months there was the expectation that Newman would be the guy to replace Jake Fromm as the starting quarterback. Many pundits tabbed Newman as a difference-maker, potential Heisman Trophy contender and even a possible first-round draft pick.

But those assumptions were put on pause earlier in the week when Georgia learned that transfer quarterback JT Daniels would also be able to play this season, as he gained immediate eligibility in transferring from USC from the NCAA on Monday.

Daniels has a much bigger recruiting pedigree, as he signed with USC as a 5-star member of the 2018 signing class. Like Newman, he’s started over 10 games at the Power Five level, as he started 11 games in his freshman season, when he actually should’ve been a high school senior. But his sophomore season was cut short, as he tore his ACL in the Trojans’ first game of the season.

In 2018, Georgia had multiple quarterback talents that are good enough to lead one of the best teams in college football. That would be Jake Fromm and Justin Fields. While Fields did play in 12 games that season, Georgia ended up sticking with Fromm as he started every game and led the team in its biggest moments.

Fields transferred after the season and ended up at Ohio State. He went on to have a far better 2019 than Fromm did, leaving many to wonder whether Georgia made the right decision when picking between Fromm and Fields.

And now, Georgia coach Kirby Smart will have to decide between two talented players in Newman and Daniels to guide the 2020 Georgia football offense.

Related: Kirby Smart gets chance to show what he learned from the Jake Fromm-Justin Fields quarterback competition

But there’s one key difference between what Smart will have to do when picking between Newman and Daniels and what he had to pick between in Fromm and Fields: The past.

Newman and Daniels have taken a combined zero snaps in a Georgia uniform. Prior to 2018, that was the case with Fields. Fromm on the other hand helped lead Georgia to an appearance in the national championship game. Those past accomplishments at Georgia undoubtedly factored into the decision to stick with Fromm.

Smart doesn’t have that kind of predicting relationship with either Newman or Daniels. Both players have started double-digit games at the Power Five level, but neither 2019 Wake Forest or 2018 USC were anything like what Georgia figures to be in 2020.

It’s a clean slate for both players, and what they do on the practice field will determine who ends up being the starter for Georgia.

DawgNation’s Connor Riley goes into further detail in the video below in discussing the Georgia quarterback situation as well as previewing how it could play out.

Riley also discusses:

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