The soap opera continues for backup quarterback Justin Fields and the UGA football program.
For the Dawgs' Early Signing Day press conference on Wednesday night, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart stated his freshman quarterback–who inadvertently might have helped the school land another big-time QB–has yet to either leave the team or shirk his responsibilities for UGA's Sugar Bowl clash with Texas.
"I think he's looking at his options, which is what you do after you've gone into the (NCAA transfer portal)," said Smart, without a tinge of remorse or disappointment. "He's still in the meetings, working hard and rolling with the Number 2s (scout team). ... I am pleased with his demeanor (on the practice field)."
Smart even revealed how UGA, at least publicly, would be comfortable with Fields playing versus Texas on Jan. 1 (New Orleans).
"Absolutely," Smart said of a hypothetical Fields package against Texas. "'We'd want you there, just come out to work and (be) ready to support your teammates.'"
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Smart's statement doesn't reveal much on whether Fields–the highest-ranked dual-threat quarterback of the 2018 class–was comfortable about the news leak involving his purported transfer.
As such, two intriguing questions linger:
**Was Fields merely contemplating a transfer, and the story became too big, too fast?
**Or is the family (and their counsel) trying to collect more information on the possibility of Fields securing an exemption waiver from the NCAA, in terms of being available to play in 2019?
(Underclassmen transfers typically sit out a year after making the move ... but an incident at the school during the regular season might allow for Fields to forge an immediate fresh start with another program.)
As expected, Smart handled the initial round of Fields-related question with typical aplomb; but as the session wore on, it became abundantly clear his laser-like focus lies with Georgia's Super Bowl preparation and the highly touted recruiting class cultivated during the Early Signing Period (Wednesday-Friday).
On Wednesday, Smart and the UGA coaches incredibly flipped the No. 2-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2019 (according to Rivals.com), convincing onetime Ohio State commit Dwan Mathis to alternatively come to Georgia.
