JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Georgia football legend and ESPN analyst David Pollack says he expects Bulldogs freshman quarterback Justin Fields to see more snaps against Florida than he has all season.
Georgia sophomore QB Jake Fromm led UGA to the SEC championship last season and an appearance in the College Football Playoff title game, but Pollack says Fields can jump-start the Bulldogs’ run game.
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“Fromm is coming off his worst game, there’s no doubt about that, he’s got to be better in the pass game,” Pollack said Friday outside of the Jacksonville Fire Museum. “Here’s what happens, when you put Fields in, immediately your run game goes from good to great, because when you stick that ball in there on the zone read, that defensive end is going ‘oh heck, I can’t let 6-foot-33 235 (pounds) outside me getting downhill.
“The threat of that is real, and it make the defenses have to honor it, so I think if Fromm doesn’t play a lot better than he did, you’re going to see Fields more and more and more. He’s got some special gifts that you can maximize, and this week it makes a lot of sense for what Florida is and who they are.”
Fields has averaged 14.57 plays per game, getting a career-high 21 snaps against Austin Peay and Vanderbilt, and making a significant impact in the 38-12 win over Tennessee by sparking the offense’s first scoring drive.
Pollack, a three-time All-American who starred at Georgia from 2001-2004 on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot this season, surmised “Fields will play more than he’s played in any game this season.”
ESPN analyst Maria Taylor, who starred as a basketball and volleyball player at Georgia, indicated if Fields plays more that’s reason enough for her to pick the Bulldogs to win.
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“Because there’s a little bit of a change, there’s a dynamic that’s added to the game and the offense that I think we’re still searching for and looking for,’ Taylor said. “You lose two great backs like Georgia did a season ago, and you’re still trying to figure out where does our offense go through, who’s gonna be the one that’s leading that charge, and could it be Fields who throws them the curve ball.”
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