By now fans for and against him knew his name. As he walked out there, his gaze was focused; he knew what he needed to do. And when his team needed him most, he delivered, just like he had all season.

Jake Fromm had waited his entire life to be on this stage. All the early morning workouts, the talks from his coaches, the extra hours out on the field. They had all lead to this. And Fromm knew it. After all, you're never guaranteed to ever get back to such a stage.

A two-run homer in the top of the fourth inning against Pennsylvania to bring his team closer to victory in a 7-5 elimination game in the 2011 Little League World Series.

That story probably didn't go where you thought it was going, did it? You probably thought I was referencing a night like the one where Fromm faced off against Alabama in the 2018 National Championship, attempting to become just the second true freshman in NCAA history to lead his team to a title. Or maybe you thought I was recalling when he took down Auburn to win the SEC Championship just a month prior, or his victory over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, or winning his first start ever in South Bend against Notre Dame.

No, the picture in time I painted above didn't come from any of the games where Fromm donned the Bulldogs' famous G. But I would argue moments like the one Fromm went through in 2011 -- even earlier, really -- mean just as much if not more than those legendary games we can all remember watching him play in on college football's biggest stages over the last three years. It's those moments, in the end, that might make an NFL team fall in love with Fromm enough to make him a first round pick next April.

***

We hear all the time that some athletes comes from humble beginnings. Not that he isn't humble, but "Bulldog beginnings" is a better way to describe how Fromm's story started. Growing up, Fromm was a Georgia fan -- he still has a signed Herschel Walker helmet in his house as one of his most prized possessions -- his family members were Georgia fans, and almost everyone in his hometown were Georgia fans.

That hometown, Warner Robins, GA, is about two hours south of Atlanta and 30 minutes south of Macon. Fromm was a two-sport athlete growing up, playing baseball as well as football throughout his childhood. As you would likely expect, he was a natural at both. On his final at-bat of his high school career, he hit a home run to win his team a state championship. In football, he may not hav won a title, but his success was all the same. he was named All-County, All-State and became a 4-star prospect in the process. But the goal, no matter which sport took him there, was always Athens. It was always the University of Georgia.

That almost didn't happen. As Fromm went through his days of high school football, he had offers from all over the south east. But he didn't have one from Georgia. At the time, head coach Mark Richt just didn't see Fromm in his plans. He had just sealed 5-star recruit Jacob Eason, and was planning to build a championship contender around him. Eventually Fromm committed to Alabama. He obviously had a ton of respect for Nick Saban and his staff, especially defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. But Fromm, as a man of faith, never lost his faith in being a Bulldog, and in a turn of events that could very well be descried as a blessing from above, Richt was replaced by Smart as head coach, and Fromm got the only scholarship offer he really wanted -- the one from Georgia.

Getting to Athens might have been part of the goal, but it was never all of it. The next part was getting on the field. In order to do that, Fromm had to go through the incumbent 5-star Eason.

Fromm liked his chances going in. He sat in the meetings in the quarterback room, retained everything he could, went the extra mile in every way. Though he didn't beat out Eason to start the season, he continued to prepare like, at any time, his named could get called -- even Fromm likely didn't think it would get called as soon as it did.

Eason injured his knee in the first quarter of the 2017 season opener against Appalachian State. The true freshman Fromm went 10-for-15 with 143 yards and a score in relief of Eason to start the season 1-0. The team and Fromm celebrated their first victory, but when it was confirmed that Eason would miss time and it was Fromm's show for the foreseeable future, in the back of their minds they knew what was next; they knew what Fromm's first start would be.

A trip to South Bend, a cathedral of college football, to face one of the most aggressive defenses in the country in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Where others might have thought this was going to be the biggest moment of Fromm's life, in his mind, he wasn't treating it like it was the biggest moment. It was just another moment, one that times like the Little League World Series and the State Championship had been grooming his mind to handle since he was young.

And handle it he did. In Fromm's first start at Notre Dame, he put the nation on watch that Georgia was back, and they were led by a cold-blooded true freshman quarterback. Fromm finished that game with just 141 yards and touchdown, but as the past two NFL drafts have taught us, UGA was talented. All they needed Fromm to do was stay composed. He did that beautifully, and they won with No. 11 under center.

“It was really hard to tell,” UGA tight end Jeb Blazevich said to The Athletic. “There were these internal things that must have been going on. But from the outside, it was hard to tell that he wasn’t just doing his thing. It was like, Jake’s got this.”

“He handled that game with class and composure,” Smart said. “But shoot, man. That was tough. It was a tough environment, a tough situation.”

That moment led to others. It led to a 300-yard performance versus Missouri, Fromm's first win in the historic Florida-Georgia rivalry, an SEC Championship, a Rose Bowl Championship, and leading his team down the field to take a touchdown lead over the Crimson Tide with under five minutes to go in the National Championship.

Over the weeks and years, the moments kept coming. As each grew in magnitude, each representing an even bigger moment in his career, Fromm never handle them that way. They weren't the biggest moment, they were just the next one.

Fromm would tell you himself that opportunities and pressure, they're just part of the blessings of being in such a position.

To lead; to win.

***

Fromm wasn't able to capture Georgia's first title in nearly 40 years back in 2018, but that game and that season let the world know there was something about this kid that made him special. Ask anyone around and they'll tell you it's who Fromm is off the field that helps you understand how he can be so calm and prepared in the biggest moments between the whistles.

"He'll watch so much film, and he can take a scheme and -- there's times he makes it better," UGA OC James Coley said to ESPN. "He challenges you as a coach to maximize his potential."

Fromm has a way of getting the best out of people. Back in his Little League days, not only was he the the best player, he was also the best leader -- which was evident at just 12 years old. His old coach recalls a story of when Fromm was asked to make the starting lineup. When he left one of the players off a starting spot and that player wasn't happy, Fromm's said to him was, "You’re hurt right now. You are one of my best friends but I’m going to have to play someone else."

A 12-year-old making those kinds of tough leadership decisions and handling them with truthfulness, confidence and poise? Are you kidding me?

Fromm is a natural born leader, and it comes from how he treats people -- the best leaders are often the ones who are the best with people. Whether it's holding his teammates accountable in the weight room, joking with them that "you're not going to let a quarterback out lift you, are you?" Or being so attentive to detail he's telling his coaches when they have typos in the playbook. Or comforting those around him in moments they need it most. When you need someone, whatever it seems to be, you can always count on Fromm.

"I really feel like everything's on my shoulders," Fromm said to ESPN. "They'll look at me, and they won't say it was Jake & Co. They'll say it was Jake's fault. That's the type of responsibility I want. I want to take this team to the next level and win a national championship. I'm determined to do it."

Since that first start against Notre Dame, Fromm has never shied away from being the guy in the moment, and you better believe the NFL has paid attention.

Up to this point, Fromm has been more of a game manager than a star catalyst. This year we were promised Fromm would be given even more responsibility to own the offense. He had his best chance to prove that on a national stage once again this past weekend in a rematch against the team he faced when it all began.

Play No. 1: Seeing Eye Fromm

Ask anyone who's been around Fromm and they'll tell you that his preparation is unmatched. They'll tell you about an extra rep he got out on the practice field, an extra workout he got in before the sun came up or extra hours in the film room when everyone else had gone home. All of that leads to things like what we've seen above.

Pre-snap reads are something Fromm is now quite comfortable with here in his third season. Notice how Fromm was adjusting protection for the interior offensive line and the running back, knowing the defense was likely about to send pressure up front. The adjustment in protection allowed him to look up the middle at the snap, then directly towards his target for a quick conversion on third down. That was a back-against-the-wall situation that Fromm handled beautifully.

Play No. 2: Timing & Touch

If you've read any of my work on quarterback scouting before you know I can harp on touch as a trait I have to see from quarterbacks to make it in the NFL. There are going to be those throws where you're going to have to float it up there and let a guy run under it in stride and with accuracy. Such a skill is often very natural and hard to teach.

If I had to use one work to describe Fromm, I could use a few, but natural is one that would be near the front of my mind. That is evident on throws like the one above where it's just a look, a read, a flick of the wrist and a perfect ball with timing and touch. That is a talent that cannot always be taught.

Play No. 3: Back Shoulder Beauties

One aspect of passing Fromm performs very well already is hitting the back shoulder throws. These are staples in the NFL. Due to how limited space and separation are between the defenders and wide receivers at the next level, throwing the ball to a spot and in the right timing is everything. It's hard to master back shoulder throws because you're aiming for a spot the receiver might not have even passed yet, let alone be turned around to. But Fromm consistently hits these throws with accuracy and timing at any point on the field to a variety of different outside receivers.

Oh, and since we're here showing a touchdown clip, now would be a good time to drop the insane stat that, in his Georgia career, Fromm has thrown 34 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the red zone. Talk about understanding space and timing in tight situations.

Play No. 4: Potential Achilles Heel

The elephant in the room with Fromm is the area of his game that those who cape him don't want to talk about and those who are skeptical of him are first to bring up.

Fromm just does not appear to have a naturally strong arm. When he's in motion or can fully step into throws, he can put a little zip on passes that are between 0-15 yards. But anything beyond that or off base with his footwork and we've see his passes really die in the air over the years. This is a potential Achilles heel for quarterback you take in the first round because, even if you can diagnose the defense in the pre-snap, go through the right reads and place the ball where it needs to go, if it doesn't get there fast enough NFL speed will eat it alive.

Over the years we've been told that Fromm's numbers and the passes he's asked to complete in the offense -- mainly the deep ones he doesn't throw often -- were a product of both him being green to the offense and also the sheer talent around him that he wisely and easily delegated the ball to. Letting your playmakers make plays is part of your job as a quarterback. But that phrase as an excuse doesn't hold much water anymore.

Fromm is in his third year, and it's his third year as a starter. He doesn't have Sony Michel, Nick Chubb, Riley Ridley, Mecole Hardman, Jeremiah Holloman or Isaac Nauta. Yes, he has D'Andre Swift, but the run game was going to get involved anyways. You could flip that and say that now he has less talent to trow to, so the expectation for big plays should be lower. But do you see where I am going here? A big game against Notre Dame and his yards per attempt was just a 7.1 average. A big win and a big performance, but a big role? Not entirely.

You have to wonder if the arm is the reason why we haven't seen a Jake Fromm unchained.

Play No. 5: Big Play Jake

I say all that in the previous section and then this -- AND THEN THIS.

Man, this kid is so much fun to watch.

Just when you think Fromm is captain check down, and a guy who is going to always take the easy way out, on 3rd-and-3 he rolls out, says screw the three yards, screw the three points, I'm here to win the game, and launches an absolute dime of a pass that hit his receiver in the only place it could've gone to be successful. (The receiver didn't hang on, but that's bedsides the pint.)

Sometimes I watch Fromm and think that he's too limited in his arm to succeed in the NFL. And other times I'll watch him hit Sunday passes like that. At his current level, his clutch outweighs his deficiencies. Does that make him just a great college quarterback? Maybe. But it also makes me think of guys like Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman and even a little Drew Brees. Those guys got in the right situations, never backed down when the lights were brightest, and I'd say it worked out pretty well for the teams that drafted them -- eight Super Bowls between them.

You know that line from Bane in The Dark Knight Rises where he says, “You think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it."

That's Jake Fromm. Normally teams and defenses think that pressure, big moments, daunting situations are their ally against opposing quarterbacks. They're taught that if they can get a QB in these situations, it's more likely he'll crumble and not preform. But Jake Fromm was born for big moments, he was molded by them. And the next big moment only makes him better.

From Little League to between the hedges, from bowl games and beyond, no moment has been too big for Fromm.

I don't expect that to change in the NFL.