ATHENS — Jamie Newman dropped back, set his feet, and let flu with a spiral that traveled some 45 yards into the air and was hauled in by freshman receiver Jermaine Burton.
RELATED: Explosive Jermaine Burton expected to make impact
It was precisely the sort of highlight Georgia football fans were hoping to see early in fall camp as Coach Kirby Smart set out to begin his fifth season as head coach.
It was exactly the type of throw Newman is known to make, and one reason why former Georgia All-American David Pollack has made it clear Newman is his pick to carry the starting duties for the Bulldogs this season.
“I remember watching him last year …. and I was like Omidgod, he’s got something special,” Pollack said during an ESPN podcast this summer.
“He’s big, he’s physical, he makes downfield throws look easy, he runs the zone read follow, and does all kinds of cool things.”
No doubt, that throw to Burton looked effortless on the UGA highlight video.
But it’s anyone’s guess as to where Newman is with his pre-snap reads and intermediate throws, two of the more important things in the sort of Air Raid offense new offensive coordinator Todd Monken is known for.
Former Georgia quarterback and SEC all-time leading passer Aaron Murray suggested Newman needs work on those important touch passes.
RELATED: Why Jamie Newman needs to ‘loosen up’ in Georgia offense.
Georgia also has former USC quarterback JT Daniels, former Ohio State commit D’Wan Mathis and former Florida High School Player of the Year Carson Beck competing at the position.
LOOK: Photos of Georgia football’s 5 scholarship quarterbacks
Pollack, the most decorated defensive player in Georgia football history and soon-to-be College Football Hall of Famer, bull rushes past all of them when UGA quarterbacks are discussed.
RELATED: Pollack goes off on NCAA transfer inconsistencies
Pollack predicted in a UGAsports.com article that Monken will build the offense around Newman’s strengths with “more RPOs, quarterback run game and, in general, more attacking all areas of the field both horizontally and vertically to put the defense in conflict.”
Murray, like Pollack, expects Newman to win the job and Monken to adjust the offense around his strengths.
Newman, in his only semi-public interview as a Georgia football player earlier this summer, compared himself to Steve McNair, Cam Newton and Donovan McNabb when asked about his style of play.
RELATED: Jamie Newman discusses why he chose Georgia football program
“Steve McNair, he’s one of the guys I feel like I’m similar to; big, country strong, tough competitor,” said Newman, who wears the same No. 9 for the Bulldogs that the late McNair once wore for the Tennessee Titans.
“Of course Cam Newton, I’ve been a Cam Newton fan since probably middle school when he first came out,” Newman added in a video chat that the football staff had restricted to high-level donors.
“I would also say Dononvan McNabb, tough, physical big guy, just get it done at all costs kind of costs type of guy.”
Confidence is clearly not an issue for Newman, who Kirby Smart has made clear has yet to secure the starting job in a room with five scholarship quarterbacks.
Smart said during the offseason he likes that Newman “can create a lot of problems for defenses.”
But the Bulldogs’ head coach also said “the first indicator of success (is) when you have someone that can lead your offense and put you in the right play and make good decisions.”
RELATED: Kirby Smart says QB competition part of process for new offense
Newman’s highlight throw came against third-team players with no pass rush with no pads on.
Georgia football will add shoulder pads for the Wednesday and Thursday practices. The fifth practice with feature full pads with a scrimmage soon to follow.
Quincy Avery, Newman’s quarterback coach, has predicted big things.
“Jamie will be able to develop pro concepts, work the reads, identify the protections and display the talents that show he can play on Sundays,” Avery said. “In this Georgia offense, he will be special.”
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