kirby smart georgia football quarterbacks

As is usually the case with a Georgia football spring game, a lot of eyes will be on the quarterback position.

For the 2023 installment of G-Day, there will be a true competition unfolding at the position. Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton are battling it out to replace Stetson Bennett.

Beck and Vandagriff have gotten most of the reps with the first-team, though Kirby Smart has always cautioned against ruling Stockton out. In a radio interview with The Steakhouse of 92.9 The Game, Smart gave an update on the state of the position entering Saturday’s spring game.

“Those guys have done a great job. They’ve all taken really good quality reps,” Smart said. “We’ve probably had more depth around them to help them in terms of wide receiver and o-line rooms. There are times where you can’t really 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 have good numbers at o line and receiver you can do a lot in terms of getting reps.”

Beck is the most experienced of the three options, due largely to winning the backup quarterback job a season ago. He’s the only one of the three quarterbacks who has completed a pass at the collegiate level.

None of the three quarterbacks have started a game yet for the Bulldogs. G-Day will be another huge test for the young quarterbacks, as they’ll be eager to show why they’re worth being a starting quarterback for what should be one of the most talented teams in the country.

But Smart was quick to caution against the idea that everything would fall on the shoulders of Georgia’s next starting quarterback. The team around whoever starts should be more than capable of helping out the first-time starter.

“A lot of it comes down to who is around him. Does he have the skillset of players around him that allow them to make plays or is he going to be forced to make plays? Does your defense play well enough that the quarterback doesn’t or does have to make plays? It’s a total team effort,” Smart said. “I think figuring out the identity of the team, what you need, what is the role of the quarterback on this team?

“It’s not the same every year. What you need out of quarterback play might be different. Certainly what we needed out of Stetson last year was different than what we needed the year before with five first-rounders.”

Georgia has won the last two national championships, with Bennett being much more of a playmaker for the team’s second title.

The Bulldogs will also have a new offensive coordinator this season, as Mike Bobo takes over for Todd Monken. Bobo will also have the responsibility of being the team’s quarterbacks coach.

As for who makes the decision on who starts, Smart said it would be an organizational-wide decision. Much of the input though will come from the offensive coaching staff.

Smart estimated there will be about 130 to 140 plays in Saturday’s game between the various teams for G-Day. Not all of those reps will be dedicated to the first-team and you can expect Beck and Vandagriff to take reps with the first and second teams.

G-Day is scheduled for a 4 p.m. ET, with ESPN2 broadcasting the game.

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