FootballScoop is proud to announce that Jim Chaney is the 2017 FootballScoop Quarterbacks Coach of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
Georgia entered the season planning to lean on sophomore Jacob Eason at quarterback. That plan was scrapped on the second drive of the Bulldogs' season-opener, thrusting true freshman Jake Fromm into action. And they didn't miss a beat.
Fromm finished the opener against Appalachian State and did not give the starting job back over the course of Georgia's SEC championship season. He posted eight games with at least a 170 quarterback rating and four games at 200 or higher.
Becoming just the seventh true freshman in Georgia history to start a game -- but the second such freshman in two years -- Fromm made his first start at Notre Dame and completed 16-of-29 passes for 141 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a 20-19 win over the Irish. In a 31-3 win over Mississippi State on Sept. 23, Fromm connected on 9-of-12 passes for 201 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Three weeks later against Missouri, Fromm nailed 18-of-26 throws for a season-best 326 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in a 53-28 win.
Fromm recorded another stellar outing in a 24-10 win over South Carolina that allowed Georgia to clinch the SEC East, connecting on 16-of-22 attempts for 196 yards with two scores and no picks.
And Fromm closed the regular season playing some of his best football. He nailed 12-of-16 throws for 224 yards with two scores and no interceptions in a 38-7 drubbing of rival Georgia Tech on Nov. 25, then responded from the Bulldogs' only loss by connecting on 16-of-22 passes for 183 yards with two more scores against no interceptions in a 28-7 win over then-No. 2 Auburn in the SEC Championship.
Coached by Chaney with heavy input from graduate assistant Jesse Stone, Fromm ended the year completing 145-of-230 passes for 2,173 yards with 21 touchdowns against five picks while adding 107 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Fromm's 63.0 percent completion rate placed 31st nationally, and his 9.4 yards per completion were sixth best in the country. His 168.18 efficiency rating was also the sixth best in FBS -- 40 spots above the next highest freshman and 63 spots better than the next closest true freshman. Fromm's 168.18 rating is the highest by a true freshman in the history of the FootballScoop Coach of the Year awards series. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and the ESPN Freshman All-America team.
Georgia will face Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl.
In addition to coaching quarterbacks, Chaney is also Georgia's offensive coordinator. A Central Missouri State graduate, Chaney also owns coordinator experience at Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Tennessee, Purdue and Cal State-Fullerton. Chaney has coached in college football continuously since 1985, save for a 3-year stint on the offensive staff of the St. Louis Rams.
Stone joined the Georgia staff shortly after Smart's hiring and has worked closely with the Bulldogs' quarterbacks in both seasons. In 2016, Stone helped Eason become the sixth true freshman in Georgia history to start at quarterback. He worked with Chaney and offensive line coach Sam Pittman at Arkansas, his alma mater, where he helped Brandon Allen become a sixth-round selection of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Stone played college football at Arkansas Tech, Hutchinson Junior College in Kansas and Ouachita Baptist in Arkansas.
Another strong presence in the quarterbacks room was Jay Johnson, an offensive assistant for the Dogs who previously served as the offensive coordinator / quarterbacks at Minnesota and Louisiana-Lafayette with additional experience at Kansas, Louisville and Central Michigan.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by ProGrass are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Ryan Day [Ohio State], Josh Huepel [Missouri], Rhett Lashlee [Connecticut], Rod Smith [Arizona], Warren Ruggerio [Wake Forest], Mario Verduzco [UCF], Brian Wright [Toledo] and Chaney) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Chaney will receive his award and be recognized at an event at the AFCA Convention in January.
Previous winners of the Quarterbacks Coach of the Year award are Josh Heupel (Oklahoma, 2008), Tom Rossley (Texas A&M, 2009), Mark Helfrich (Oregon, 2010 and 2012), Philip Montgomery (Baylor, 2011), Randy Sanders (Florida State, 2013), Kevin McGiven (Utah State, 2014), Mike Sanford (Notre Dame, 2015) and Tyson Helton (USC, 2016).
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