What the signing of Georgia quarterback Jaden Rashada means for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs
Through the transfer portal, the Bulldogs discovered their future starting quarterback.
After concluding his visit to Athens, former Arizona State quarterback Jaden Rashada is anticipated to announce his commitment to Georgia. Carson Beck, a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, is the quarterback of the future for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs after he returns as the starter. After Rashada entered the NCAA transfer portal, Georgia was the first university to keep an eye on him.
Rashada was one of the best quarterback prospects in 2023 when he signed with Florida, but after getting released from his LOI due to a NIL issue, he ended up at Arizona State.
Rashada represented the Sun Devils in three games during his rookie year and kept his redshirt, thus Georgia may be able to use him for his entire career. Similar to how Oregon signed two quarterbacks this portal cycle, Dillon Gabriel of Oklahoma will start for the Ducks in 2024 and serve as a bridge for Dante Moore of UCLA the following spring.
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After Rashada’s transfer to Athens and his impact on the SEC, there has been a lot of reaction.
Rashada’s move disrupts the extremely quiet spring transfer portal cycle at the quarterback position. After Brock Vandagriff left for Kentucky through the gateway, Georgia searched for a new scholarship player for months, and finally they found their man.
Moore selected the QB2 spot at Oregon this spring, behind Gabriel, and Rashada will get an opportunity to challenge Georgia’s Gunner Stockton for that spot between the hedges this autumn. It’s a sensible option for Rashada, who still has four years of eligibility left.
After Jayden Daniels won Heisman Trophy as the quarterback last season and is expected to pick first overall in Thursday’s 2024 NFL Draft, the last Arizona State quarterback transfer to land at one of the SEC’s premier programs worked out well for LSU. Rashada’s arm strength is comparable.
And it took place. One of the best players in Billy Napier’s 2023 signing class, Rashada didn’t stay with the Gators for very long due to wild NIL difficulties. As a freshman in Gainesville, he was supposedly expecting to get a monthly salary of $250,000.
Trenton Bourget, the quarterback for Arizona State, responded to Rashada’s choice last week and wished him well on his upcoming stop. “If you want to be at Arizona State, stay here, if not, hopefully you find a place you enjoy better,” Bourget said.
Following this month’s spring game, Georgia coach Kirby Smart did not back down from answering questions about the portal quarterback.
“We want to have four plus an excellent walk-on. That is the aim, according to Smart. We believe that Colter Ginn, an extremely good walk-on athlete, is our preferred candidate. We can’t get enough of him. We considered him to be one of our state’s best players. We’ll have to wait and see. I’m not able to guess the portal. Not that I’ll even attempt. My concerns are about our players’ retention and our guys.”
When the team reassembles in autumn, Georgia will still have four scholarship quarterbacks despite a few guys leaving the program during the spring timeframe.
“I’m not worried at all. Is it something I can control? No way, Smart said. “I won’t live long if I worry about things that are out of my control. Simply put, there is too much out there “explained Smart. It basically comes down to a decision of whether or not you want to be here. since they are aware of our current methods by now. Everyone is aware. We haven’t had a practice this easy all spring. They had a great time with it. I have no say over guys who wish to be somewhere else.”
What makes Rashada the ideal addition to the Bulldogs? His athleticism is superb, and he won’t be looked at as the man from Year 1 in Athens. Unlike Arizona State, there’s time to grow.
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