From Little League to UGA: Jake Fromm's rise to the top
The high school All-American threw for nearly 13,000 yards and more than 115 touchdowns during his heralded career at Houston County en route to committing and signing to play football at the University of Georgia and his transition hasn't been too big for the signal caller to handle.
All-Star, All-American, and UGA superstar
Jake Fromm is now a household name when it comes to football. The high school All-American threw for nearly 13,000 yards and more than 115 touchdowns during his heralded career at Houston County en route to committing and signing to play football at the University of Georgia and his transition hasn’t been too big for the signal caller to handle.
“It’s kinda hard to believe,” says Fromm. “But I’m here now, all grown up with my big boy pants on, excited to be here, very grateful and I thank God He put me in this situation.”
As a true freshman, Fromm was pressed into action in his very first college football game and lived up to the hype ever since. Helping lead his bulldogs to an SEC title, Rose Bowl win and eventual national championship game appearance in just his first year under center as a true freshman.
To date, Jake Fromm’s record as a starter is 22-3 before battling in state rival Georgia Tech, with a number of individual accolades and a recent nomination for the Davey O'Brien trophy coveted as the national quarterback award. But many may be surprised that the swag or the moxie that comes from Fromm started with a different ball on a different field of dreams.
Growing up, his first love was baseball and he was pretty good at it. Back in middle school, Jake was the face of the 2011 Warner Robins All-Star Little League team. During that stretch, he helped lead the team to Williamsport for the Little League World Series as a star pitcher and slugger.
Buddy Deal was one of Jake’s coaches on the WRALL team and watched Jake develop into a dominating player even at the age of 11.
PHOTOS: Jake Fromm's rise to the top from WRALL to UGA
Deal explains, “He (Fromm) stepped on the field and, one, he felt like he belonged. Two, he knew he belonged.”
Jake also went on to play high school baseball as well, helping win 2 state championships for the HoCo Bears where he hit for better than .300 batting average in each season, a talent that continued to grow unknowingly to the kid once deemed the “ManChild.”
“He was that good and we all knew,” says Deal. “We all knew he was that special at an early age and he never knew that. I think to this minute he doesn’t know that. He’s just one of those kids that wants to do his best every time.”
Now in his second year at UGA, the Fromm magic continues. Jake has paced the Dawgs to a 11-1 record and another SEC championship berth and hasn’t gone without his share of adversity, but ironically, Jake’s foundation was created more from the dugout than the sidelines.
Deal explains, “We had Media 101 classes when he (Fromm) was young-- things you wanna say, things you don’t wanna say -- and Jake was really good at that. When we got to Williamsport, it was off the chain -- cameras were in his face and I think that prepared him for for this type of stuff at Georgia.”
A team leader, Coach Deal says Jake worked hard to be the best teammate and he demonstrates that by working hard to improve his play especially when things don’t go his way, back then and just as much in the present day.
“We were in the SE regional when Jake hit back to back bombs against Florida and North Carolina to advance us," says Deal. “One where he gave up a two-run bomb and hit a three-run bomb in the final inning to put us ahead so Jake faces some adversity right there. Switching to today, He had a rough game with LSU but rebounded with a masterful game with Florida and Kentucky, and that’s him -- he’s going to find a way to be successful. That’s in his blood.”
And though the future looks bright for Jake Fromm on the gridiron, his old ball coach still thinks his options are open if he ever wanted to revisit his old love.
“Jake could play with those guys and if he decided to go over and say, 'I’m playing baseball tomorrow,' they’d say, 'Come on,'” says Deal. “And it doesn’t matter if we were playing cornhole on the porch -- he’d be the winner, he’d be the champ. He just has that thing about him. It’s who he is.”
But wherever Jake Fromm lines up, you can be sure he’s going to prepared for the challenges ahead.