Georgia quarterback JT Daniels opens up about his mental health
Georgia quarterback JT Daniels opened up about his mental health prior to the 2021 college football season. In a powerful conversation with Marty Smith and Ryan McGee of ESPN, Daniels mentions how he dealt with a difficult 2020, seeing a sports psychologist and handling adversity.
“On a serious note, I learned a lot about myself, and I handled adversity that I haven’t handled before,” said Daniels. “My trajectory in high school was pretty much straight up … and I went to college and went straight down. I was a starter my freshman year, we went 5-7. I didn’t play too good. Next year, first game, I tear my ACL.”
“The start of 2020 I end up in Georgia … I feel like I’m mentally ready but they say my knees not ready,” recalled Daniels. “I gotta keep battling and battling … I got an opportunity, and I think I did a good job taking it.”
“I learned a lot about myself in terms of handling adversity that I’ve never been faced with before,” said Daniels.
JT Daniels’ road to Georgia
First, the success Daniels mentions from high school was legendary, winning the 2017 Gatorade Football Player of the Year and ranked as the number one overall recruit in his class by Rivals.com.
Next, after reclassifying to join the University of Southern California early, Daniels led the Trojans to a 5-7 record his freshman year. Then, in 2019, the quarterback suffered the devastating ACL injury he mentions in USC’s first game. Afterward, Kedon Slovis stepped in as the starting quarterback and never looked back. Subsequently, Daniels transferred to Georgia for the 2020 season.
Due to his knee injury, Daniels didn’t play until late November. Still, the Bulldogs went 4-0 in his starts. The quarterback finished 2020 completing 80 of his 119 pass attempts, totaling 1,231 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“I learned I’m capable of doing it.”
Continuing, Daniels elaborates on what he learned about himself throughout the long, winding road back to the field.
“I learned that I’m capable of doing it,” stated Daniels. “I was always pretty good at handling success, but I’ve never been tested with adversity until I got to college. The first two years I was down on myself mentally, I was not doing great.”
“Drew Brannon, UGA Sports Psychologist, a really close friend of mine now, helped me a lot with my mental space. Coach Smart, a lot of the people in this place really changed my life around for me,” said Daniels.
Smith mentions that going to see a sports psychologist is a personal decision, and one that Daniels possessed great strength in making.
“It was not a sports move at first. It was a personal move, I had to reach out,” stated Daniels.
“I’d so much rather put up with the injury, or the inconvenience than get it fixed. I don’t know why . . . that’s how I was,” said Daniels. “At a certain point you make the decision to do it, and as soon as you do it and you get good help, you’re a different person.”
As mental health becomes a more prominent subject in sports, JT Daniels was candid and inspirational with his words. Prior to the end of the interview, Daniels mentioned that believes Georgia’s offense depth is the separator between them and other championship contenders.
“We have the talent to do whatever we want,” said Daniels.
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