Jake Fromm Georgia football

ATHENS — Jake Fromm is back practicing with the Washington Commanders but the former Georgia QB still has a good feel for his former program.

That’s why Fromm, a former team captain who was 37-5 as the Bulldogs starting quarterback, is able to put some things in perspective like few others.

Take for example the UGA schedule, which critics of the program say is too easy after a scheduled game at Oklahoma was replaced by a home game with Ball State on account of the Sooners’ pending arrival in the SEC next season.

Fromm said that’s nothing the players should or will concern themselves with.

“It’s the cliche phrase of ‘I’m going to control what I can control,’ " Fromm said during a recent appearance on DawgNation Daily. “As a Georgia athlete, as someone affiliated with the organization and university, I have no control over making the schedule.

“(Players) have no control over the schedule, so they will go out and play, but they can control how they play, and that’s something they will take to heart.”

The Bulldogs open with home games against UT-Martin (Sept. 2), Ball State (Sept. 9), South Carolina (Sept. 16) and UAB (Sept. 23) before their first road trip of the season at Auburn (Sept. 30).

It’s a Georgia team that is receiving many of preseason accolades, including having 11 players selected as first-team All-SEC at the SEC Media Days in Nashville just more than a week ago.

Fromm sees it as a program win as much as anything.

“That’s super impressive and a large amount of respect to, One, the players themselves, and Two, to Coach (Kirby) Smart and the way he recruits and the way the system is developing players and continuing putting guys out in the draft and the NFL and having success,” Fromm said.

“A lot of awards is really more about the team and how well the team does and being able to have team success. What you’re seeing is the benefit of that.”

Fromm sounds on point, as the 2021 team that would ultimately have an NFL-record 15 players picked in the draft had just two first-team preseason All-SEC players -- Jordan Davis and Jake Camarda.

That was likely because the UGA team the year before finished 8-2 and did not play in the SEC Championship Game after losing to Florida in Jacksonville.

The Bulldogs haven’t lost a regular-season game since that loss to the Gators and are expected to be a preseason No. 1 this season.

This, despite breaking in a new starting quarterback with Stetson Bennett having moved on to the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams.

Fromm was asked how he felt Carson Beck might do with all of the superstar talent around him, as three offensive linemen were picked first-team All-SEC along with tight end Brock Bowers and receiver Ladd McConkey.

“I think coach (Mike) Bobo and Coach Smart will do a good job of putting Carson of whoever it is in the right position to succeed,” Fromm said.

“In one sense it takes a little bit of the pressure off you, because you know you have good guys around you, where you just put it in their hands and they make a play, or you know you’re going to have a little bit of extra time because of the offensive line.”

There’s another side, Fromm pointed out.

“But it also puts a lot of pressure on you too,” Fromm said, “because you know you have good guys around, you so it’s up to you to perform to get the most of the guys around you.

“It works both ways, however you want to argue.”

Fromm had it go both ways in his Georgia career, as far as having surrounding talent.

Fromm helped lead Georgia to the brink of a national title his freshman season (2017) with future NFL backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel providing firepower before the defense faltered on an infamous second-and-26 play in overtime of the 26-23 championship game loss to Alabama.

Two years later, Fromm kept UGA in title contention before D’Andre Swift got injured in the final regular-season game against Georgia Tech and George Pickens was suspended for the first half of an SEC title game against a stacked LSU team.

Georgia all-time QB wins leaders

David Greene 42

Jake Fromm 37

Aaron Murray 36

Stetson Bennett 29

Georgia all-time passing leaders (yards)

Aaron Murray 13,166

David Greene 11,528

Eric Zeier 11,154

Stetson Bennett, 8,428

Jake Fromm, 8,224

Georgia all-time TD passes

Aaron Murray 121

Jake Fromm 78

David Greene 72

Eric Zeier 67

Stetson Bennett 66