Former Georgia, USC QB JT Daniels Announces He's Transferring to West Virginia

Quarterback JT Daniels announced Wednesday that he is transferring from the University of Georgia to West Virginia.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Daniels said he informed West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown of his decision Wednesday morning and added the following: "Going up and down the roster, I feel like they have very, very good pieces everywhere. It feels like a great fit for quarterback. I feel like there's a really, really, really good team that I'm going to step into and do my part to contribute."

Daniels spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons at USC before transferring to Georgia, and while he was given the opportunity to start, he primarily ended up in a backup role behind Stetson Bennett in 2020 and 2021.

Injuries have largely been to blame for Daniels not being able to lock down a starting job for an extended period of time.

He started 11 games as a freshman at USC but tore his ACL in the 2019 season opener. With USC deciding to move forward with Kedon Slovis as its starter in 2020, Daniels transferred to Georgia.

Daniels was not healed in time for the start of the 2020 campaign, however, and he started only four games for the Bulldogs that season. But he showed great promise by going 4-0 and completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 1,231 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.

He began 2021 as Georgia's starter, but oblique and lat injuries sidelined him after three games, and he was never able to wrest the job back from Bennett, who ultimately led the Bulldogs to a national championship.

Daniels won all three of his starts last season, bringing his overall record as Georgia's starter to 7-0. He also completed 72.3 percent of his attempts for 722 yards, seven touchdowns and three picks.

Despite the injuries and inconsistency over the course of his career, there is still hope Daniels can establish himself as a top collegiate quarterback at WVU.

Daniels chose West Virginia over Missouri and Oregon State, and he told Thamel that the presence of offensive coordinator Graham Harrell had something to do with it, saying:

"It definitely helped knowing Graham coming into it and having a really good relationship with him. Knowing that I trust that offense and that system, and I believe in it. I also feel really comfortable with Coach Brown and the ideas that he has and the way that he runs a program."

Harrell was the OC at USC when Daniels was with the Trojans in 2019, and Daniels will be looked upon to run Harrell's Air Raid offense effectively in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Daniels is joining a West Virginia program that has reached a bowl game in seven of the last eight seasons but hasn't won more than eight games in a season since 2016.

The Mountaineers offense ranked 88th in FBS with 25.2 points per game last season, and that was with Jarret Doege under center.

Doege transferred to Western Kentucky, leaving a huge hole at the quarterback position, but Daniels could potentially be a significant upgrade if he is able to stay healthy in 2022.