At this time last year, the Jamie Newman balloon was expanding with each way-too-early mock draft.
David Pollack had Newman tabbed as a
future first-rounder, as did CBS Sports, who had the new Georgia quarterback as
the No. 8 overall prospect and No. 3 among quarterbacks behind only Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields.
Sports Illustrated’s Monday Morning Quarterback had Newman coming off the board at No. 20 overall in the way-too-early mock draft, and
Matt Miller had Newman at No. 29 overall.
Mel Kiper Jr. bought into the hype, too. He had Newman as the No. 4 quarterback on his board behind Lawrence, Fields and Trey Lance. Days after that, Kiper went on public airwaves and questioned if Newman could be the next great transfer quarterback after 3 such players went No. 1 overall in the previous 3 drafts.
“We want to see what the transfer from Wake Forest to Georgia, Jamie Newman, does,”
Kiper said to ESPN host Kevin Negandhi last May on an episode of The College Football Podcast With Herbie & Pollack. “All of that talent, he’s certainly gifted. He’s got those young receivers now who will be sophomores. I think he one that could really make a nice jump. We saw (LSU’s) Joe Burrow make a huge jump up. We saw it with (Oklahoma’s) Baker Mayfield. We saw it, obviously, (with Oklahoma’s) Kyler Murray. Now we see Jamie Newman, the quarterback at Georgia.
“The first year there, we’ll see if he does well, how far he moves up the draft board.”
What Kiper and all of us didn’t know at the time was that we wouldn’t see Newman at Georgia at all. At least not in a game. Newman’s opt out in early September was equal parts baffling and unpredictable.