Jaden Rashada admits he 'needed Georgia' after NIL dispute, freshman struggles

After a tumultuous start to his college career, quarterback Jaden Rashada needed to hit the reset button. He was able to do that by making his way to Athens and the Georgia Bulldogs.

“I think I needed this place a lot right now in my life,” Rashada said ahead of the Sugar Bowl. “I needed Georgia specifically.”

Coming out of high school, Jaden Rashada was a highly-ranked recruit. According to the On3 Industry Ranking, he was a four-star recruit and the sixth-ranked quarterback overall in the Class of 2023. That pedigree came with some massive NIL offers, including from the Florida Gators for a four-year and $13.85 million contract.

Rashada very publicly committed to play for Florida before that deal fell through. That left him looking for a new school without the money he believed he would have. In the end, he decided to go to Arizona State for his freshman season.

“It was a pretty crazy point in my life,” Rashada said. “But, man, sometimes all you have is your faith, and you’ve just got to trust God and whatever he has planned for you.”

By the time Rashada got to Arizona State, he was under a microscope and when he did see the field, he played like a freshman. There were flashes of his pedigree but he struggled overall. In three games, he completed 44 of 82 passes for 485 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions.

“Everything that I kind of had been going through and experienced this year, I learned a lot,” Rashada said. “I feel like I needed this year a lot, and it’s exceeded every expectation plus some more.”

After just one season at Arizona State, Jaden Rashada made the decision to transfer to Georgia. The Bulldogs, of course, are rivals with the Gators and that meant he had the chance to compete against and beat Florida in 2024.

“It was pretty fun,” Rashada said. “Fun environment, and we won that game.”

Beyond just the chance to play against the team where he publicly had a massive NIL deal not work out, Rashada and Florida have remained tied together publicly in large part thanks to his lawsuit against head coach Billy Napier and a Florida booster over his NIL dispute.

Since getting to Georgia, Jaden Rashada has primarily been the Bulldogs’ third quarterback, behind Carson Beck and Gunner Stockton. Now, with the injury to Beck, he and Ryan Puglisi are that much closer to the field during Georgia’s College Football Playoff run.

“It’s definitely been a different year just because of what I’m used to,” Rashada said. “I feel like this year has been just a challenge of your patience, just because everybody wants to play, of course. But at the end of the day, I think it’s good that I can just come in and learn.”

Georgia next plays against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl at 8:45 p.m. EST on New Year’s Day.