Georgia QB JT Daniels enters transfer portal, Stetson Bennett announces his return

Still unbeaten as Georgia’s starting quarterback, but with no assurance he will ever regain the starting job, JT Daniels has decided to look elsewhere.

Daniels entered the transfer portal Wednesday, which doesn’t rule out his staying at Georgia, but is a clear indication he's considering a departure. The news comes on the same day that Stetson Bennett, who supplanted Daniels as the starter and led Georgia to the national championship, announced he's returning to the Bulldogs in 2022.

Daniels was joined in the portal by wide receiver Jermaine Burton, who had 53 catches for 901 yards and eight touchdowns in two seasons with the Bulldogs. Bennett just finished his fifth season but can return for another year due to the NCAA’s COVID-19 exemption.

As for Daniels, the expectation before the year was he would be leaving Georgia after the season, but it was supposed to be for the NFL Draft. Daniels had gone 4-0 as Georgia’s starter down the stretch of the 2020 season, and won all three of his starts in 2021. But he also dealt with injuries, first an oblique and then a lat muscle, and while he sat out Bennett’s play convinced the coaches to stick with him.

Daniels was by all appearances a good teammate throughout the process, constantly by Bennett’s side on the sideline. But without any certainty about 2022, he will now see what opportunities will be elsewhere.

Since he has already transferred once, from Southern California before the 2020 season, Daniels does not have an automatic one-time exemption to play right away. But he could graduate from Georgia in May and then seek a grad transfer exemption.

(Photo: Tony Walsh / Georgia Athletics)

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What does this change for Georgia’s quarterback situation in 2022?

Seth Emerson, Georgia beat writer: Bennett's main competition for the starting job is out of the way. Carson Beck, who will be a sophomore, is still with the team, as is former five-star Brock Vandagriff, and highly regarded 2022 signee Gunner Stockton has also enrolled. They would all be candidates to start if Bennett opts not to return, but if that happened then Georgia could also explore the transfer portal.

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Where could Daniels find a new home?

Emerson: The quarterback carousel is such that any number of schools could make room for Daniels if they wanted to. Daniels could follow the Jacob Eason path: A West Coast kid who comes to Georgia, starts and loses his job, being a good teammate throughout, then transfers back west. Daniels would be looking for a team with a pro-style system since his mobility (coming off the 2019 ACL injury) was the main reason he lost the job to Bennett.

What does Burton’s decision mean for UGA?

Emerson: It’s a potentially big loss, because for two years he has seen as many snaps and targets as any receiver and has game-breaking ability. That said, the emergence of AD Mitchell and Ladd McConkey, not to mention tight end Brock Bowers, takes some of the sting off it. So would Arian Smith and Dominick Blaylock returning to form after their injuries. Still, expect Georgia to pursue immediate help in the transfer portal.

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