Photo by Dale Zanine - USA Today Sports
Notre Dame Football
Fromm the Freshman
September 8, 2017
3,823
The line on the Georgia-Notre Dame game moved earlier this week when it was announced that Jake Fromm would be starting at quarterback in place of returning starter Jacob Eason.
I thought it was a strange overreaction to the injury. Even though Fromm is a true freshman that will be making his first ever start on the road, as I mentioned earlier this week and as was reiterated by a source to ISD that was familiar with Fromm from high school, this is not a typical freshman quarterback coming into Notre Dame Stadium.
It's not just that he was a 5 star recruit that enrolled early. There are plenty of other factors as well, one of which is the fact he is built like an upperclassman. Florida State is being forced to play a true freshman at quarterback that is 185 pounds soaking wet. Fromm is 229, one pound heavier than Brandon Wimbush.
He doesn't look like a freshman and he showed in his debut against Appalachian State that he often doesn't play like one. That and the spring game is a small sample size, but it was enough to show that there are legitimate reasons to believe the hype.
That doesn't mean he still won't make some freshman mistakes, though. There will be chances for the Irish secondary to create turnovers. I expect Fromm to be good, but not to be anything close to perfect.
I picked out some throws from the season opener last week to show what Notre Dame is facing in Fromm and how they may be able to take advantage of some freshman mistakes from him.
All quarterbacks would prefer to have a clean pocket when they throw the football. Most quarterbacks struggle when they face pressure directly in their face.
That's not breaking news. More like common sense. However, there are few quarterbacks that don't seem to be phased by pressure. It's not that a pass rush can't affect them, but it's more that they show no fear of the rush and that can be half the battle at times.
Fromm is one of those quarterbacks. When observers talk about him having "it", that's a big part of what they're talking about. He will take a hit to make a throw and does not wilt under the pressure of the rush.
Here he is delivering a deep ball last week knowing that he is going to get hit. He's well aware that he is going to have to pay the price, but it does not deter him. He threw it up there for his receiver and the receiver did the rest.
He did the same thing in the spring game with a man in his face where he hit another deep ball for a touchdown. He braces himself for the hit after delivering, but his eyes never leave the target until after he releases the football.
I think Mike Elko should bring extra rushers to try and get to Fromm, but no one should expect that it will rattle him. He has uncanny poise for someone his age when it comes to having to deal with the rush in his face. Every throw he makes when facing the rush may not be a perfect one, but he won't be intimidated by having a blitzer a step away from hitting him in the mouth.
Sometimes that kind of attitude towards the rush can be bad for Fromm, which is exactly why it wouldn't be smart to drop eight and play zone the majority of the time either. I think we've seen some of that with Brandon Wimbush already that it's okay to be cautious and to not try to make a big play each and every snap.
This is a throw that Notre Dame wants to see out of Fromm when they have a free rusher coming at him. Attempting to avoid may have been the right call here, but he lets one go down the field and the ball is up for grabs.
A pass interference call bailed him out, but if this was good coverage, then it's a pick. The Irish are going to need to take advantage of this kind of throw when it's presented to them.
Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville was the analyst during the App State game. When Fromm was inserted after Eason's injury, Tuberville mentioned that Fromm only knew about 50% of the offense according to the Georgia coaches.
Although the additional reps and practice time will help him for Notre Dame, he isn't learning half of the offense in a week when it took him since January to learn the other half.
That means the Irish can expect plenty of 3 step and quick game passing when they aren't running the football. Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney called a lot of this to simplify things for Fromm versus App State and I think he'll do the same in this game. That's the biggest advantage Eason had over Fromm. Fromm may be more accurate with his ball placement, but his knowledge of the offense wasn't as great so the playbook is more limited with him than it would have been with Eason.
Getting the ball out of his hands quickly is going to be a priority. This kind of easy throw to tight end Isaac Nauta is what the Irish will likely see a lot of.
Fromm has the arm to take shots down the field, but those I also expect to be one read type of situations where he has a clear target he's going for. Nauta, slot/running back D'Andre Swift, and Mecole Hardman are three pass catchers that could figure prominently in this game.
This also means that Notre Dame's secondary should be able to sit on some routes in zone. He had a habit of staring down his receiver and throwing the ball regardless if it was open against App State.
This is the kind of ball that could be jumped by Nick Watkins.
He finished 10 of 15 for 143 yards, but that doesn't quite reflect that there were opportunities for App State to turn the ball over that they didn't capitalize on. This is another one that Fromm got away with last week.
It's clear he is a very talented passer. He has an arm that can make just about every throw and I don't think the moment is going to be too big for him in this game. In saying that, it's obvious that the smart strategy for Notre Dame is try and make Fromm beat them rather than their stable of talented running backs.
If they can get Georgia behind the chains and force Fromm to make throws, he can get it done some of the time. But it's those times when he forces the football when he shouldn't that Notre Dame will be hoping for. And when it does happen, they'll need to be in a position to make a play because it's very likely that a turnover or two could end up being a significant factor in the end result of this game.
I thought it was a strange overreaction to the injury. Even though Fromm is a true freshman that will be making his first ever start on the road, as I mentioned earlier this week and as was reiterated by a source to ISD that was familiar with Fromm from high school, this is not a typical freshman quarterback coming into Notre Dame Stadium.
It's not just that he was a 5 star recruit that enrolled early. There are plenty of other factors as well, one of which is the fact he is built like an upperclassman. Florida State is being forced to play a true freshman at quarterback that is 185 pounds soaking wet. Fromm is 229, one pound heavier than Brandon Wimbush.
He doesn't look like a freshman and he showed in his debut against Appalachian State that he often doesn't play like one. That and the spring game is a small sample size, but it was enough to show that there are legitimate reasons to believe the hype.
That doesn't mean he still won't make some freshman mistakes, though. There will be chances for the Irish secondary to create turnovers. I expect Fromm to be good, but not to be anything close to perfect.
I picked out some throws from the season opener last week to show what Notre Dame is facing in Fromm and how they may be able to take advantage of some freshman mistakes from him.
Not deterred by pressure
All quarterbacks would prefer to have a clean pocket when they throw the football. Most quarterbacks struggle when they face pressure directly in their face.
That's not breaking news. More like common sense. However, there are few quarterbacks that don't seem to be phased by pressure. It's not that a pass rush can't affect them, but it's more that they show no fear of the rush and that can be half the battle at times.
Fromm is one of those quarterbacks. When observers talk about him having "it", that's a big part of what they're talking about. He will take a hit to make a throw and does not wilt under the pressure of the rush.
Here he is delivering a deep ball last week knowing that he is going to get hit. He's well aware that he is going to have to pay the price, but it does not deter him. He threw it up there for his receiver and the receiver did the rest.
He did the same thing in the spring game with a man in his face where he hit another deep ball for a touchdown. He braces himself for the hit after delivering, but his eyes never leave the target until after he releases the football.
I think Mike Elko should bring extra rushers to try and get to Fromm, but no one should expect that it will rattle him. He has uncanny poise for someone his age when it comes to having to deal with the rush in his face. Every throw he makes when facing the rush may not be a perfect one, but he won't be intimidated by having a blitzer a step away from hitting him in the mouth.
Sometimes that kind of attitude towards the rush can be bad for Fromm, which is exactly why it wouldn't be smart to drop eight and play zone the majority of the time either. I think we've seen some of that with Brandon Wimbush already that it's okay to be cautious and to not try to make a big play each and every snap.
This is a throw that Notre Dame wants to see out of Fromm when they have a free rusher coming at him. Attempting to avoid may have been the right call here, but he lets one go down the field and the ball is up for grabs.
A pass interference call bailed him out, but if this was good coverage, then it's a pick. The Irish are going to need to take advantage of this kind of throw when it's presented to them.
Expect a lot of 3 step and quick game
Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville was the analyst during the App State game. When Fromm was inserted after Eason's injury, Tuberville mentioned that Fromm only knew about 50% of the offense according to the Georgia coaches.
Although the additional reps and practice time will help him for Notre Dame, he isn't learning half of the offense in a week when it took him since January to learn the other half.
That means the Irish can expect plenty of 3 step and quick game passing when they aren't running the football. Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney called a lot of this to simplify things for Fromm versus App State and I think he'll do the same in this game. That's the biggest advantage Eason had over Fromm. Fromm may be more accurate with his ball placement, but his knowledge of the offense wasn't as great so the playbook is more limited with him than it would have been with Eason.
Getting the ball out of his hands quickly is going to be a priority. This kind of easy throw to tight end Isaac Nauta is what the Irish will likely see a lot of.
Fromm has the arm to take shots down the field, but those I also expect to be one read type of situations where he has a clear target he's going for. Nauta, slot/running back D'Andre Swift, and Mecole Hardman are three pass catchers that could figure prominently in this game.
This also means that Notre Dame's secondary should be able to sit on some routes in zone. He had a habit of staring down his receiver and throwing the ball regardless if it was open against App State.
This is the kind of ball that could be jumped by Nick Watkins.
He finished 10 of 15 for 143 yards, but that doesn't quite reflect that there were opportunities for App State to turn the ball over that they didn't capitalize on. This is another one that Fromm got away with last week.
It's clear he is a very talented passer. He has an arm that can make just about every throw and I don't think the moment is going to be too big for him in this game. In saying that, it's obvious that the smart strategy for Notre Dame is try and make Fromm beat them rather than their stable of talented running backs.
If they can get Georgia behind the chains and force Fromm to make throws, he can get it done some of the time. But it's those times when he forces the football when he shouldn't that Notre Dame will be hoping for. And when it does happen, they'll need to be in a position to make a play because it's very likely that a turnover or two could end up being a significant factor in the end result of this game.
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