Georgia Bulldogs Countdown to Kickoff: 11 Days
Ladies and gentlemen, we are now 11 days away from kickoff to the 2022 College Football season for the Georgia Bulldogs. It’s been a while since I wrote one of these countdown to kickoff stories, but trust me, I’ve been counting the days. And the No. 11 is one that means quite a bit to the Georgia Football program.
No, I’m not diving into the history of a program that ranks No. 11 among FBS schools in all-time wins, nor am I planning to talk about Arian Smith or Jalon Walker, both of whom will wear the “sticks” this season. Nor am I even going to address Derion Kendrick who wore it last year on his way to winning Defensive MVP of the Orange Bowl and a selection by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2022 NFL Draft. Instead, I’m keeping this one focused on a pair of quarterbacks from recent memory, Aaron Murray and Jake Fromm.
Aaron Murray
Murray is not only one of the best quarterbacks in Georgia history, but he still stands as one of the best in SEC history. Playing between the hedges from 2010 to 2013 (we’ll ignore a redshirt season in 2009), the Tampa, Fla. native totaled 13,166 passing yards and 121 touchdowns on 921 completions, all three of which are SEC records. His 1,478 attempts is also a school record while we’re at it, and it ranks No. 3 in the SEC. Not too shabby. Murray helped guide Georgia to the SEC Championship Game in back to back seasons in 2011 and 2012, coming oh so close to getting the Bulldogs into the National Championship in 2012. In the process, Murray become the first SEC quarterback to pass for 3,000 yards per year in four seasons.
Memorable Murray moments include the 2011 comeback effort against Florida with two fourth down touchdown passes to help Georgia win 24-20 over the Gators, a school-record 98-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Davis for his 100th career touchdown pass and his effort in the 2013 Sanford Stadium shootout between No. 9 UGA and No. 6 LSU, among many others.
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Jake Fromm
Four years after Murray left, Fromm kicked off a career that did the No. 11 plenty of justice. As a freshman, he took over the starting duties after an injury to Jacob Eason in Week One. That first game was on the road against Notre Dame, and Fromm helped guide Georgia to victory. The Bulldogs would roll through the remainder of the 2017 regular season, with the exception of a loss at Auburn which was later redeemed in the SEC Championship, won the conference title and made the College Football Playoffs. Fromm won SEC Freshman of the Year as Georgia went on to play for the National Championship, beating Oklahoma in a historic Rose Bowl before falling to Alabama in the title game.
He backed that up with a sophomore season where he increased in every category, including a career-high 30 touchdowns. Georgia once again finished the regular season with one loss and made it to the SEC Championship. The same thing happened Fromm’s junior year, setting career high marks for completions (234), attempts (385) and yards (2,870), along with his fewest interceptions of any year at Georgia. Finishing his college career off with a Sugar Bowl victory over Baylor, Fromm decided to forego his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. He checks in at No. 4 all-time at Georgia for career passing yards with 8,224 and career completions with 621. His touchdown total (78) and passing efficiency (156.13) both rank second-best in school history.
