NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kirby Smart is not going to rush into settling the Georgia football quarterback situation.

“It’s way more important to get it right, which I don’t know that we’ve always done, than it is to do it fast,” Smart said on Tuesday morning at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in an exclusive interview session with UGA beat writers.

“I can’t put a timetable on that or a volume of plays.”

Smart reflected that quarterback competitions aren’t always the easiest to manage.

“Looking back, you could make the case, why didn’t Stetson (Bennett) get more reps, for two years, really,” Smart said. “Why he didn’t get more upon his return, maybe we didn’t manage that right, but we certainly didn’t rush into it.”

Bennett has moved on to the NFL, leaving Carson Beck as the most experienced returning quarterback on the roster, with Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton pushing.

Smart said during spring drills he needed to see more from all three, including how they perform in games.

“Game action always matters … absolutely it matters, it’s the No. 1 measure we have,” Smart said, “and it’s the one thing we can’t measure, because we’ve said over and over you don’t tackle the quarterback (in practices). In the game, they get tackled.”

Beck appeared in seven games last season, completing 26 of 35 passes for 310 yards and 4 touchdowns, and in 2021 he was 4-of-10 passing for 88 yards with a TD and an interception in his limited action.

Vandagriff, entering his third year in the program, has yet to attempt a pass in a game. Likewise for second-year quarterback Gunner Stockton.

Smart said all of those things will be taken into consideration this fall.

“Brock has very limited game action — we didn’t give Brock an opportunity to open things up and do things in games,” Smart said. “Carson we loosened up and did more things with him ,so we have a little more measurement.

“Gunner hasn’t had any (game action); closest these kids have to game action is the spring games.”

It’s a situation offensive coordinator Mike Bobo oversees daily but Smart is also closely monitoring.

“I thought we did a really good job in the spring of doing that,” Smart said, referring to spreading the volume of work.

“I make Coach Bobo and the offensive staff bring me a sheet of paper every day that says, ‘this is who’s getting the Ones percentages, this is who’s getting the Twos, percentage, this is who’s getting the Threes. "

Smart said it helps that Beck has had more work in the past, indicating it could provide more opportunities for Vandagriff and Stockton.

“The one luxury we have is Carson has gotten a greater volume, so if you’re willing to cut his volume, you’re able to increase the other Twos volumes with the Ones,” Smart said.

“So we’ll see how that goes, but I don’t know exactly right now, or how fast.”