Kirby Smart addresses his confidence in JT Daniels heading into College Football Playoff

Stetson Bennett is Georgia’s starting quarterback. Kirby Smart has made that clear multiple times this season, and he’s continuing to ride with Bennett as the Bulldogs’ No. 1 quarterback heading into their College Football Playoff semifinal against Michigan in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

While Bennett – who has thrown for 2,325 yards and 24 touchdowns in 12 games this season – is Georgia’s starter, the Bulldogs have another extremely talented quarterback in their room in JT Daniels. Having tallied 722 yards and seven touchdowns in six games this year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Daniels get some playing time during the playoff.

During his press conference previewing his team’s game against Michigan in the College Football Playoff, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was asked about Daniels – who played well down the stretch in 2020 – and if he could help out if needed.

“He’s done a tremendous job in all our practices and all our work in being able to be effective and understand what we have to do offensively in making decisions,” Smart said of Daniels. “We get to see him go against the [No.] two defense, sometimes he gets to go against the [No. 1] one defense, depending on what we’re working on. He’s done a good job of doing that.”

Georgia (12-1) and Michigan (12-1) are scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. ESPN is carrying the national broadcast.

Kirby Smart addresses Georgia quarterback situation ahead of CFP semifinal vs. Michigan

Heading into the Orange Bowl matchup between Georgia and Michigan, which is drawing much attention as New Year’s Eve continues to move closer, a lot of eyes are on the Bulldogs’ quarterback situation – relating to whether Stetson Bennett or JT Daniels will get the start against the Wolverines.

Heading into his team’s game against Michigan, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart addressed the Bulldogs’ quarterback situation.

“We don’t disclose that information – we just talk about the guys that are doing their job,” Smart said. “All four of those games have done a tremendous job working with us. Brock [Vandagriff]’s been giving us a great picture down on the scout team end and JT and Stetson are both really doing a good job of simulating the offense that [Todd] Monken wants to do.

“Like I talk about all the time, we’re going to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win – and I’m really proud of the way both of those guys have practiced. We’ve done I guess four or five camp-type practices and two really focused on Michigan-type practices and both guys – Stetson and JT – have been really good, in terms of locked-in and focused on what we need to focus on.”