Smart Updates Georgia's QB Competition Heading Into G-Day

Georgia will turn to a new starting quarterback in 2023 following the departure of two-time national championship offensive MVP Stetson Bennett. Given the importance of the position, the competition between redshirt junior Carson Beck, redshirt sophomore Brock Vandagriff, and sophomore Gunner Stockton to determine who will emerge as the successor to Bennett has been the most closely watched position battle of the spring. On Wednesday, head coach Kirby Smart updated the quarterback competition when he joined the Steakhouse on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta to preview Georgia’s G-Day spring game that is scheduled to be held on Saturday inside Sanford Stadium.

While there is still plenty of time for the competition to play itself out, Smart acknowledged the gravity of the decision he will ultimately have to make at the quarterback position.

“I think the quarterback position shapes every team. We are not the only team privy to that. The quarterback is the leader of the organization, the leader of the team on grass, he makes a decision or two or three every play.”

However, despite the emphasis placed on the quarterback position, Smart asserted the talent around the quarterback will also factor into the decision.

“A lot of it comes down to who's around him. Who does he have around him? Does he have a skill set of players around him that allows them to make plays or is he going to be forced to make plays? Does your defense play well enough that the quarterback has to or doesn't have to make plays or does have to make plays? I mean, it's a total team effort.”

Even though no one at the position has yet pulled away from his competitors, Smart insisted that he is “very pleased with where we are at the quarterback position” and explained that the decision regarding Georgia’s starting quarterback will not be one he will make unilaterally.

“Who goes into making that decision? The entire offensive staff, myself. We take input from everybody, every part of our organization. When they are in the weight room, we talk to the strength staff. We're going to talk to other players. We're going to talk to our offensive staff primarily and find out where we think we need to go to get the most out of the position."

As for how the quarterbacks have fared through the spring, Smart was complimentary of the group as a whole.

"I mean, those guys have done a great job of taking really good quality reps. We've probably had more depth around them to help them in terms of wide receiver and o-line rooms. There's times where you can't truly evaluate a quarterback if he doesn't have the right people around him. We've had a good run of luck in terms of not having injuries and having good numbers. When you get good numbers at o-line and wide receiver you can do a lot with the quarterbacks in terms of getting reps."

The number of reps each quarterback receives during G-Day is often indicative of where they currently stand in the competition. When asked to provide an idea of how many reps fans could expect each quarterback to take inside Sanford Stadium on Saturday, Smart was non-committal.

"I don't know that. I mean, we average...I don't know. Every game is different. We've got seven years history of G-Day and we go through, not including the COVID year, we count those reps and we try to see what that's going to be like. I can't sit here and tell you because it has varied, from 50 To 55 to 60 to 65 snaps and then obviously there's two teams. So if you're looking at 130, maybe 140 snaps to try to go out there to play."

While it remains extremely unlikely that Smart will name a starter at quarterback coming out of spring practice, G-Day provides an opportunity for each of the contenders to impress their coaches and make their case in front of the entire Georgia fanbase.