ATHENS — If you’re wondering why Georgia isn’t bringing projected starting quarterback Carson Beck to SEC Media Days this week, you might want to pay closer attention.
Kirby Smart indicated before, during and after spring drills the Bulldogs’ quarterback competition is ongoing.
Still, the preseason magazines and many Georgia football fans seem set on the notion Beck will run the team this season.
And he just might.
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Beck is the most experienced of UGA’s quarterbacks and is coming off a strong G-Day Scrimmage.
But reflecting on recent history, an unsettled quarterback situation isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The Bulldogs finished two of their past three seasons — and four of seven under Smart — with a different starting quarterback in the last game than started the first one:
2016 Greyson Lambert - Jacob Eason
2017 Jacob Eason - Jake Fromm
2018 Jake Fromm
2019 Jake Fromm
2020 D’Wan Mathis-Stetson Bennett- JT Daniels
2021 JT Daniels-Stetson Bennett
2022 Stetson Bennett
The “projected” part of Beck’s current title is indeed a very real thing, as inconvenient as it seems for those wanting the comfort of a settled quarterback situation.
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Things worked out quite well last season with sixth-year senior Stetson Bennett leading the Bulldogs to a perfect 15-0 season and a second-straight CFP Championship.
Of course, things worked out well the year before, too, when Bennett stepped into the starting job after J.T. Daniels suffered an upper-body injury and Beck lost the No. 2 job with a poor week of practice.
And then there was the 2017 season, when Jake Fromm took over for an injured Jacob Eason and helped lead Georgia to the brink of a college football title.
Other schools have had championship success in seasons where more than one quarterback played a key role.
RELATED: Carson Beck clears air, why he nearly transferred out of Georgia
As Bulldogs’ fan know, it was then-Alabama-backup Tua Tagovailoa coming off the bench to beat Georgia in that CFP title game.
One season later, Trevor Lawrence overcame Kelly Bryant and started the fifth game of the season for the Tigers, leading Clemson to the national championship his freshman season.
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To be clear, Georgia could go wire-to-wire with Beck as its starting quarterback and when it all.
But if a change is made, for whatever reason, the Bulldogs might still win what would be a third consecutive championship.
