Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Florida’s Dan Mullen dial up quarterback smokescreens

ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart said last week the Bulldogs starting quarterback would be a game-time decision, and he certainly wasn’t tipping his hand on Wednesday.

JT Daniels returned to practice last week and was taking first-team reps in drill work early in Monday’s practice after missing the past three games with a strained lat.

Stetson Bennett, however, impressed Smart enough in place of Daniels that Smart has left open the possibility of continuing to start the former walk-on or utilize a rotation.

Smart, however, didn’t offer any clues about either quarterback when asked during the SEC teleconference where the QB situation stood entering into the 3:30 p.m. clash with Florida on Saturday in Jacksonville.

“They both looked good, and they are both doing a good job,” Smart said. “So we’ll go into Wednesday (practice) and see how the day goes.”

Smart was asked as a follow up if he’s seen enough from the quarterbacks to say both would play.

“Both guys have done a good job,” Smart said. “So, again, we’ll go into today’s practice and see how the day goes.”

Smart indicated on Tuesday that both quarterbacks would be prepared to play.

Dan Mullen was just as vague about the Gators quarterback situation after he used Emory Jones in the first half and Anthony Richardson in the second half of Florida’s 49-42 loss at LSU on Oct. 16.

“We will play a quarterback on Saturday,” Mullen said. “We’ll have a quarterback on the field.”

The Gators lead the nation in yards per carry (6.33) on the strength of their dual-threat quarterbacks, Emory Jones (494 yards, 5.8 yards per carry) and Anthony Richardson (348 yards, 12.4 yards per carry).

Smart has express concerns over the challenges Florida’s run game presets with its big offensive line, and the unpredictability of when the quarterbacks will pull down the ball and run.

“(Mullen) uses the run game to set up his play-actions, and when you least expect it, he runs the quarterback,” Smart said. “Those guys are just really good runners …. elusive and powerful.”

Mullen, meanwhile, explained that while Georgia’s plays might not change much between Daniels and Bennett, the way the plays are executed does differ.

“it’s really understanding what this guy brings to the table and what are his strengths, what are his weaknesses, where is he going to;” Mullen said on Wednesday. “Because everybody in the game, even if you run the same play with two different quarterbacks, each one is going to play and have a little bit of a strength to it and things that they bring to the table differently, so you’ve just got to have the awareness of which quarterback’s in the game.”