JT Daniels Announces Transfer to Georgia; Bulldogs National Championship Odds Are +1000

• Former USC QB JT Daniels has transferred to the University of Georgia
• Daniels will compete with Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman in 2020 if he is eligible to play
• Are the Bulldogs now worth a championship bet at +1000 odds?

USC five-star QB JT Daniels has chosen the University of Georgia as his transfer destination. Daniels impressed as a freshman two years ago for the Trojans, but had his 2019 season end abruptly when he suffered a year-ending knee injury in Week 1.

The announcement comes following earlier offseason news that Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman had chosen Georgia for his final year of eligibility.

With two talented quarterbacks now in the fold at UGA, are the Bulldogs worth a bet in the National Championship odds?

2021 National Championship Odds

Odds taken May 28

Daniels’ Eligibility An Unknown

Daniels may have chosen Georgia as his transfer destination, but it’s no guarantee he plays the 2020 season.

Under current NCAA rules, a player has to sit out a season after transferring to a new school. Daniels will need to obtain a waiver from the NCAA if he wants to play for the Bulldogs in 2020.

THANK YOU USC ✌🏻
Excited for the future #GoDawgs🐶 pic.twitter.com/ewfhBG3ved

— JT Daniels (@jtdaniels06) May 28, 2020

While Daniels will need to obtain a waiver, Newman is a graduate transfer who can play immediately. The NCAA has delayed voting on a proposed one-time waiver that would give transfers immediate eligibility at their new school, so there’s definitely a possibility we don’t see Daniels on the field for the Bulldogs until 2021. 

Newman and Daniels Form Elite QB Room

Everybody was expecting Newman to be Georgia’s starting quarterback in Week 1 against Virginia, so the Daniels addition will certainly drive up the competition.

In Daniels’ only full season back in 2018, he posted some promising numbers, throwing for 2,672 yards and 14 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.

Newman is coming off a solid junior campaign for the Demon Deacons in which he threw for 2,868 yards and 26 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. What makes Newman such a promising addition is his rushing ability. The incoming senior had 574 rushing yards in 2019, a tangible that was missing from UGA’s last starter, Jake Fromm.

These are two very talented quarterbacks, but we’ve seen more from Newman. His experience and dual-threat ability still makes him the likely Week 1 starter.

Bulldogs Can Take SEC East

If Daniels is in fact deemed eligible to play, the Bulldogs would become a great bet to come out of the SEC East Division and play in the conference championship game.

The team hired former Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coordinator Todd Monken as their new offensive coordinator, poached Scott Cochran from Alabama and are once again expected to have one of the best defenses in the nation.

There it is, JT Daniels to Georgia.

I think this is the move, whenever he's eligible, that finally brings a national championship back to Athens. https://t.co/vfcPqbfAZf

— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) May 28, 2020

Even if Daniels can’t find a way to play in 2020, Newman is still going to face some competition from QB’s Stetson Bennett, Carson Beck and D’Wan Mathis. Daniels playing in 2020 would be a big boost to the team’s QB depth, but Newman has shown over the past two years that’s he more than capable of quarterbacking this Georgia offense.

Betting Advice

With Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa out of the conference, the SEC is up for the taking in 2020. The Bulldogs are returning a ton of talent on defense and have made some proming offseason additions both on and off the field.

Georgia was already a decent longshot bet for a championship when Newman announced his transfer. If Daniels is deemed eligible to play in 2020, take advantage of any longshot value before it disappears.