11:12 a.m. ET
Pete Thamel ESPN
Quarterback JT Daniels’ winding collegiate career has taken a turn on a country road.
Daniels told ESPN that he is moving to West Virginia and that he called coach Neal Brown and informed him of the decision Wednesday morning.
Daniels was the most notable player to remain on the NCAA transfer portal. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback went 7-0 over twos as a starter in Georgia the last two seasons.
“As I go up and down the list, I feel like they have very, very good pieces everywhere,” Daniels told ESPN in a phone interview. “It feels like a great fit for the quarterback. I feel like there’s a really, really, really good team that I’m going to join and do my part.”
Daniels moved to Georgia after playing the 2018 and 2019 seasons at USC. He’s a former ESPN 300 recruit from Mater Dei High School (Orange County, California) – one of the most prolific quarterback incubators in the country.
He chose West Virginia over Missouri and Oregon State after visiting all three in recent weeks. The combination of a strong lineup of five returning offensive linemen with 107 combined career starts, veteran skill players, and the impression Brown made led Daniels to choose the Mountaineers.
2 relatives
The move to Morgantown also reunites Daniels with Graham Harrell, another major factor in his decision. Harrell is the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in West Virginia. Harrell overlapped with Daniels as offensive coordinator at USC in 2019.
Daniels said familiarity with the air defense system Harrell operated at USC will help ease the transition since the offense is essentially what he learned back in 2019.
“It definitely helped knowing that Graham came into the game and had a really good relationship with him,” Daniels said. “I know I trust and believe in this offense and this system. I’m also very comfortable with Coach Brown and his ideas and the way he runs a program.”
Daniels also liked Morgantown and said he felt comfortable there.
“I loved it,” he said. “It feels a lot like Athens, which is a typical university city [and] which I really, really like to live in.”
A pure pocket passer, Daniels has flashed at times throughout his injury-eroded collegiate career. He completed 69.5% of his passes and averaged 9.7 yards per attempt over two seasons in Georgia, the most for any Bulldogs quarterback at more than 200 attempts.
After Daniels was named the second true freshman quarterback in USC history to start an opener in 2018, Daniels showed promise as he started 11 games and threw 14 touchdowns.
From then on, injuries defined his next three seasons. As a sophomore, an ACL injury sustained in the 2019 opener washed out that season and led to his move from USC to Georgia.
His recovery continued into the 2020 season with the Bulldogs, preventing him from starting early this season. He started the last four games that year, including a Peach Bowl win over Cincinnati that included three scoring drives in the fourth quarter and 392 total passing yards.
Daniels entered 2021 as a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and a senior NFL draft pick. He started three games during Georgia’s 2021 championship season, including the opener win over Clemson. Both an oblique problem and a lat muscle injury dogged Daniels, who also won starts in September against South Carolina and Vanderbilt. He only played a quarter against Vandy and left the game with the lat injury after starting with a 9-for-10 pass.
Daniels stressed that he didn’t feel any snakebite from the injuries and said he took “personal responsibility” for them.
“Thing #1 [that I need to prove] is that I can stay healthy,” said Daniels. “If there’s one thing I haven’t proven, it’s that. I’ve missed 35 games in three years.”
After arriving in West Virginia, he enters a quarterback competition, notable for his lack of experience. None of the current quarterbacks have started a game for the Mountaineers.
Returning scholarship quarterbacks Garrett Greene and Will Crowder bring little experience to the table, having combined for 175 passing yards last season. New freshman Nicco Marchiol is an ESPN 300 recruit in the Class of 2022. Jarret Doege, who has started the last two seasons, moved to Western Kentucky.
If Daniels wins the job, he will play behind an offensive line that will see all five starters returning. They include center Zach Frazier, who should be among the best in the country for his position, and Wyatt Milum, who was considered one of the best freshman tackles in the country last season.
West Virginia has played 6-7 and 6-4 under Brown for the past two seasons, and there’s potential for an experienced starter at quarterback to make a difference and help the program turn the corner.
Daniels brings the most experience and skill to the group, and his arm talent could pair well with veteran returning receivers Sam James and Bryce Ford-Wheaton, who have amassed 2,676 career receiving yards combined.
“They have many talents,” Daniels said. “There’s no question about that. And they were a [top-ranked] defense for the past five years. It feels like a really good, complete team to be part of.”
Daniels is in the process of completing his degree for his graduate degree in Georgia and will be immediately eligible for a grad transfer at WVU. He emphasized how much he enjoyed his experience on the program and winning the national title last season.
“I love Georgia and Georgia has always loved me since I’ve been here,” Daniels said. “It was a really, really good and supportive fan base. I am very, very grateful. I had no trouble adjusting. I wouldn’t even consider it an adaptation. Everyone here was good and honest and good people.”
West Virginia opens the 2022 season on September 1 at rival Pittsburgh. The game, known as Backyard Brawl, could have a Southern California flair as former USC quarterback Kedon Slovis made the move to Pittsburgh this offseason.