Paul Finebaum: Georgia has built dynasty-caliber team without elite quarterback

From the minute Kirby Smart stepped foot on campus in Athens, the goal was to turn the Georgia Bulldogs into Alabama 2.0. Smart won four national championships as Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator and now, he was going to try to replicate the success as a head coach.

Georgia got their first title under Smart on Jan. 10, finally getting over the Alabama hump that had stopped them for years. They did so the way Saban did for years — with an elite defense, a solid ground game and so-so quarterback play.

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum laid out how the Bulldogs were able to win the national championship without having elite play from a quarterback. He said it will continue past this season due to the talent acquisition from Smart.

“Sometimes you get fortunate, you have a decent program, and here comes Cam Newton,” Finebaum said. “But what’s interesting is Auburn went back to the championship game even with a different quarterback. Georgia has done this without, what I would call, an elite quarterback. Jake Fromm was good. Justin Fields was elite, but he never played. I don’t need to tell you guys the story about Stetson Bennett. That’s what’s so remarkable about this, (Kirby Smart) built this in recruiting from the day he arrived. He built an elite defense. He’s added the companion pieces on offense, and that’s why we are having this conversation.”

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Bringing in highly-rated quarterbacks has not been the problem for Smart and Georgia over the past five years. Jacob Eason, Justin Fields, and Brock Vandagriff were all five-star recruits on the On3 Consensus. Jake Fromm was a highly rated four-star. Even USC transfer JT Daniels was a five-star prospect coming out of high school.

Three of the five-star names mentioned transferred out of the program, Fromm left for the NFL, while Vandagriff is still waiting his turn. Most programs would crumble under the pressure with that kind of quarterback turnover but thanks to the defensive recruiting over the past few years, Georgia was able to win their first in 40 years.

However, Smart stuck with his guns this season and kept Bennett as the starter, even if it was not popular in the public eye. It paid off and the quarterback will now return next season, hoping to run it back with the Georgia Bulldogs. They will be trying to grab their second championship and fully embracing becoming the next great dynasty in college football.