georgia uga kirby smart stetson bennett JT Daniels

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —The Georgia-Florida rivalry game has a unique twist to it this year with both teams dealing with quarterback situations.

The Bulldogs’ circumstance is that the previous starter, JT Daniels, is returning from injury (strained lat). The Gators could be on the verge of changing starters, from Emory Jones to Anthony Richardson.

The quarterback position, by its nature, is always one of the more talked about positions.

That has certainly been the case for Coach Kirby Smart at Georgia, as the Bulldogs have had multiple quarterback controversies over the course of Smart’s six seasons leading the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs.

The next chapter is expected to begin with Stetson Bennett starting over JT Daniels when the teams kick off at 3:30 p.m. (TV: CBS).

Smart might also make a last-minute change, as he has told television reporters in previous gameday interviews that he reserves the right to make it a “game-day” decision.

Daniels is the better talent and UGA has been a more explosive team with him under center against SEC competition.

But Bennett’s story -- from walk-on, to junior college player, and back to UGA as a fourth-stringer before emerging last season -- clearly has a special place with Smart.

It’s the SEC’s version of “Rudy” on steroids.

Still, Smart has his reasons for everything he does, and here are five that could be behind starting Bennet over Daniels:

1. Team rhythm

Georgia has won three straight with Bennett at the helm, pairing great defensive play with a more conservative run-first style that Smart seems most comfortable with as a former defensive coordinator.

The Bulldogs SEC wins with Bennett have come over Arkansas (37-0), Auburn (34-10) and Kentucky (30-13). Bennett has thrown 5 TD passes with no interceptions in those games, averaging 184 yards passing per contest while completing 35 of 52 (67 percent) of his passes.

Georgia has averaged 44 runs and 17 passes in those three games, with Bennett taking on some of the run duties. Bennett rushed 3 times against Arkansas (16 yards), 6 times against Auburn (41 yards) and 3 times against Kentucky (22 yards).

“With Stetson, he has some quickness,” UK coach Mark Stoops said. “He’s sneaky fast with the way he scrambles or runs the ball when necessary.”

Inserting Daniels, who brings more of a vertical, pass-first style to the field, deviates from the play-calling patterns Todd Monken has recently applied.

Indeed, in his seven SEC starts, Daniels has averaged 27 pass attempts per game (counting the start he made against Vanderbilt when he played just one quarter and threw 10 passes).

Bennett, in his four starts this season, has averaged 16 pass attempts per game.

“Our offense has been so different every week in terms of who’s available,” Smart said, including the receivers and tight ends in that equation. “Our offensive staff has been using the weapons that we have.”

Bennett, with his likable, down-to-earth approach, is the first to admit it’s a matter of playing a role.

“As a quarterback,” he said, “when you’ve got a great defense and great run game, it’s pretty easy.”

2. Loyalty

Bennett disclosed after the win over Arkansas that he very nearly left the Georgia football team after spring drills.

It appeared at the time that redshirt freshman Carson Beck had passed Bennett on the depth chart for the No. 2 duties behind clear-cut starter JT Daniels.

Bennett wasn’t sure what his opportunities with the Bulldogs would be like come fall camp.

“You don’t play football forever, and you’d like to play football when you can play football,” Bennett said. “It was a tough decision, probably one of the hardest that I ever made. It was tough and at the end, I broke it down, and I decided to stay.”

Smart made sure Bennett would get a fair chance to compete with Beck in fall camp and reclaim the No. 2 job, which he did the week of the UAB game when he made his first start of the 2021 season in place of Daniels.

“I know (Bennett) was frustrated; he was more frustrated with his reps and volume of reps,” Smart said. “For him it was more about competition, getting an opportunity. It wasn’t necessarily about one’s reps, it was about him getting two’s reps, because he wasn’t getting a lot of those.”

Smart has great respect for Bennett, who started his career at UGA as a walk-on (2017), went to junior college for a year (2018) before returning to Georgia with a scholarship as Jake Fromm’s backup (2019).

Bennett was fourth string the summer before the 2020 season, but transfer Jamie Newman opted out, Daniels’ knee injury didn’t heal before the season-opening game, and D’Wan Mathis struggled the first half of the Arkansas opener and Bennett came in to win the game.

Bennett, in Year Two under coordinator Todd Monken, said he feels like a different player.

“A lot different, so much more sure, (and) so much more control over the offense, more knowing what the defense is going to do,” Bennett said. “It’s knowing what Coach Monken is thinking in specific situations.”

3. Plan A, Plan B

Smart is all about roster management, and it’s possible that in wanting to have two quarterbacks at their best for Florida, he’s determined a rotation with Bennett going first would be most effective.

Fact is, Bennett and Beck have played poorly in roles coming off the bench this season.

Beck was 4-of-10 passing with a Pick-6 against UAB, and in his limited work against Vanderbilt, he was part of three motion penalties with the team backed up inside its own 5-yard line.

Bennett threw interceptions in his first series coming off the bench against South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

Daniels had gotten Georgia off to hot starts in both his SEC starts this season before Bennett entered and was unable to maintain the pace in the pass-first gameplan.

Daniels was 8-of-9 passing for 119 yards before Bennett entered the South Carolina game in the first quarter and was intercepted on his second play.

Daniels was 9-of-10 passing for 131 yards against Vanderbilt in the first quarter before Bennett came in and was intercepted on his first drive in the second quarter.

Bennett, clearly, is much more effective starting than in relief this season.

4. Preserving Daniels

Smart said many times Daniels looked fine in practice, but it’s possible the head coach has some degree of lingering doubt and simply didn’t want to tip off Florida that Bennett would start.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s been limitations in terms of what he can and can’t do,” Smart said last week, stopping short of defining Daniels as 100 percent.

“I’m okay with whoever the best guy to give us the best chance to win is. That’s based on practice and health. It’ll continue to be that way the rest of the year. The question of, ‘are you okay rotating them?’ Is not relevant if they’re both not completely healthy.”

Smart is one of the more conservative coaches when it comes to his decisions with offense and personnel, and it’s also possible he wants to be as careful as possible with Daniels before re-inserting him into the lineup with five games left in the regular season.

Georgia has been able to ground and pound all of the SEC teams it has faced to date, but a more aggressive and explosive offense could be needed if the Bulldogs run into Alabama in the league championship game.

“(Smart) has a great comfort right now,” Former UGA quarterback and current Georgia Radio Network analyst Eric Zeier said. “He doesn’t have to rush JT back if he doesn’t think he’s all the way there.”

5. Unfinished business

Georgia was leading Florida 14-0 last year when Bennett left the game with a sprained shoulder, having taken a hit on the touchdown pass that gave the Bulldogs’ a two-touchdown lead.

Smart, in reflecting on Bennett’s improved statistics this season, referenced his confidence in how the former walk-on played last season.

“We got beat by the national champion (Alabama) with him at quarterback and we didn’t play real good on defense,” Smart said, looking back on the 41-24 loss to the Tide last season, a game that saw Bennett go 18-of-40 passing for 269 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

“He was playing pretty good against the team that won the SEC East (Florida), and he took a shot and hurt his shoulder. I don’t know this is a new premonition that he’s all the sudden gotten better.”

Smart is always very supportive of his quarterbacks. Bennett is certainly no exception, to the extent that Smart often emphasizes a narrative that he is much better than many think.

“Stetson Bennett is a really good quarterback, I keep saying that, and people don’t believe us, but he’s a good quarterback,” Smart said after the win over Arkansas.

Smart said he didn’t think it was a fair question when asked if one quarterback had a higher ceiling than the other, referring to that as a “hypothetical.” But he did provide some insight.

“The outside perception is one guy is way better than the other, and I think both of them are really good, and I’m proud of both them,” he said. " I don’t think ceilings, I think growth, that’s where my focus is.”

Bennett’s performance at Auburn this season impressed Smart a great deal, to the extent it’s fair to speculate if it has carried over into future decisions on who starts at Georgia.

“Stetson played a hell of a game, Stetson made plays with his feet,” Smart said after what might have been the best all-around performance of Bennett’s career against SEC competition.

“You go back to that game and there’s one, two, three, probably four really big plays in the game that he makes with his athleticism and that’s a dynamic that he brings that forces them to defend us different ways,” Smart said.

“I don’t know how you feel, I don’t really read what anybody writes, but he played really well too last year. He did some good things last year and I don’t think people give him enough credit …. "

Smart made it clear that now, however, the team will be behind Bennett any time he takes the field.

“I think, to each his own, everybody has their own opinion of what Stetson is or isn’t,” Smart said. “Within this team, there’s a belief that Stetson is a really good football player and he’s a winner.

“He’s done nothing to show us otherwise in terms of his toughness, his competitive nature, the embracing of the offense, the embracing of the role to stay here and compete, when for a while there, he was a three and not getting as many reps, so very pleased with the way he’s handled things.”