By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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Quarterback Jake Fromm has a chance; to date, he has made the most of all of his.

At one point, Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm was considered a top NFL prospect. The reality, getting an opportunity as the 167th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, is that he still was. Fromm is now a professional, a high-profile member of the Buffalo Bills. Though he may not have been selected as high as some might have once thought, Fromm has a chance; to date, he has made the most of all of his. Fromm will bring an impressive resume to upstate New York. He has been proficient and productive, both a focal point and a complimentary piece. Most of all, Fromm has won.

Fromm went 35-7 as a starting quarterback at Georgia, played in three SEC Championship Games in three seasons, won the Bulldogs’ first league crown since 2005, won the program’s second-ever Rose Bowl and left the field as a true freshman with Georgia leading Alabama in overtime in the College Football Playoff Final. Atlanta to Pasadena, Fromm, furthermore, never lost in Jacksonville. He threw for 8,236 career yards and 78 career touchdowns, completing over 63% of his passes and averaging over nine yards per attempt.

For a of frame of reference, here is a complete list of quarterbacks this millennium with at least 8,000 yards passing, 75 touchdowns and fewer than 20 interceptions: Sam Bradford, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Robert Griffin III, Cody Kessler, Marcus Mariota, A.J. McCarron, Tim Tebow and Fromm. Of those, five of the other eight were first round NFL Draft picks. Maybe Fromm deserved to be closer to his peers.

The unfortunate reality is that some of Fromm’s relative struggles as a junior, coming in a season where he passed for a career-high 2,860 yards and threw just five interceptions, shaped pre-draft talking points. Most people, with any form of evaluation, focus on the most recent data. Fromm did not, by any measure, have a bad year in 2019. Compared to a freshman season where he ranked eighth in the nation in quarterback rating and a sophomore season where he ranked fifth, his final totals were simply not what many expected.

Various factors may have contributed to Fromm’s regression, efforts which were still enough, mind you, to get the Bulldogs past the likes of nationally-ranked Notre Dame, Florida, Auburn and Baylor, all wins over top 15 teams, to an SEC Championship Game and a Sugar Bowl bid. He threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns in his final college game. Fromm, in all, had a considerably-higher passer rating this past fall than many big name signal callers, Utah State’s talented first round selection Jordan Love included.

Just because Fromm may have slipped some doesn’t mean he still isn’t on a path, one tracked with red clay, to future NFL success. At 6’2”, 220 pounds, Fromm is a well-built passer whose leadership ability has been on clear display since the beginning. When starter Jacob Eason, drafted 122nd by the Indianapolis Colts out of Washington, went down due to injury early in the first game 2017, Fromm, a true freshman, came in cold off the bench and stabilized the season. It was an unfortunate introduction to the game for Fromm, though one where his composure made a big difference.

For all of Fromm’s impressive statistics, some of his best traits are the unquantifiable ones that simply helped Georgia win. Fromm’s production is only part of his profile. Even more value may come with what can’t be measured.

Fromm was often at his best on the big stage, a comfortability that will only help him moving forward. In his SEC Championship Game debut, Fromm completed 16-of-22 passes. He beat Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield in the most famous venue in the country in a College Football Playoff semifinal match for an encore. In SEC Championship Game, take two, Fromm threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns against mighty Alabama. Against Florida for his career, Fromm completed 41-of-61 attempts for 620 yards, six touchdowns, one interception and, most of all, three wins. His first-ever start, remember, was a triumph at Notre Dame.

Facing all of Georgia’s traditional archrivals, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Tennessee and the Gators, Fromm went a combined 12-1, ultimately avenging his lone regular season loss in a much more important game weeks later in Atlanta. Fromm, even when people weren’t fully appreciating it, did it all in Athens. Each one of the season’s ended with his team directly in the national conversation and his program mentioned amongst the nation’s elite. He leaves Georgia better than he found it.

As Fromm transitions to the next level, he will do so with a feel for the moment and an understanding of what it takes to win.

A southern drawl will also follow Fromm to Buffalo, as will an eagerness to help his new team continue to improve. The Bills are one of the hottest franchises in the NFL, one with a star quarterback already on the roster in the emerging Josh Allen. Even still, Fromm will be a positive addition. Simply put, he is the type of football player who makes any football team better. His college career, even recent results, are a testament to just that.

Jake Fromm may not have been drafted as high as many, at various points, projected. That said, his name was called and an NFL roster spot is now awaiting. As an immediate star at the college level, this wait, for Fromm, took a couple of rounds. None of that matters as the next phase begins. Fromm has been well on his way for years.