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Jake Fromm: Faith, family, and football

As UGA heads into the national championship game on Monday, we're highlighting some of our very own Central Georgia Dawgs. Jake Fromm's mom opened up about Jake's success this year on the field.

From Freedom Field to Sanford Stadium.

In just one season, Central Georgia boy Jake Fromm transitioned from leading the Houston County Bears to leading the UGA Bulldogs.

This came after starting UGA quarterback Jacob Eason went out with an injury early in the season opener against Appalachian State.

"Jake was on the sidelines and I thought he was second in line, so I'm like, 'Get your helmet, get your helmet, dude,'" says Lee Fromm, Jake's mom.

It's a scenario she says she was never expecting.

"After that game though, I said you know what? His bucket list is crossed, he's always wanted to play football at Georgia and he's lived his dream," says Lee.

But that dream was far from over.

The next weekend, in his first game as starting quarterback, Fromm led the Dawgs to a 20-19 win over Notre Dame.

"That was probably the best weekend of our lives," says Lee.

As the weeks went by, the wins kept coming with big plays from Fromm, like the "flea flicker" against Mississippi State, and mom's favorite play of the season against South Carolina.

"Sony Michel was running in for a touchdown, so Jake goes into playing defense mode. So he gets to block, which exemplifies football to me anyway, because one person can't achieve anything without the other 11 players on the team. This isn't about him. He likes for his receivers to get the big kudos and he'll just say, 'Well, I didn't do anything. I didn't catch the ball,'" says Lee.

But Jake isn't the only one throwing and blocking in the Fromm family. Their football weekends "kick off" on Friday nights at Warner Robins High School.

"Dylan and Tyler play every Friday night, so we have to decide are we getting up at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m... and where are we playing? If it's Tennessee, we're driving because we don't want to miss any of the games," says Lee.

Three sons, two nearly perfect seasons, and one very tense mom in the stands.

"Oh, I am a basket case. He steps back to throw and I lose my breath. He gets sacked by two, I lose my breath," says Lee.

But through the sacks and the stress, Lee says there's one thing that holds Jake together.

"Faith is important to him and it always has been," says Lee.

She says Jake reads his Bible every day before he gets out of bed, prays before and after every game, and encourages his teammates to trust in the Lord.

"He's in Heaven right now, there is no other way to describe it. I mean, he is living the life right now," says Lee.

Lee says before every UGA game this season, she watched defensive film from the opposing team. She called Jake every Wednesday to let him know "mom's" version of how he should prepare for the upcoming game.

This time, she's leaving it in the hands of Coach Kirby Smart.

Editor's note: this story was originally published prior to the SEC Championship game.

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