Georgia Football: ESPN writer assesses Bulldogs QB room in Week 2 overreactions column

Feelings of joy came out of Georgia’s domination of UAB on Saturday, but controversy may be brewing. In his Week 2 overreactions column, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach mentioned that quarterback Stetson Bennett’s performance may make Kirby Smart think twice.

With starting quarterback JT Daniels dealing with an injury, Bennett played fantastic in his stead. Against UAB, Bennett completed 10 of 12 passes — throwing for 288 yards and five touchdowns in the process.

While Bennett had a record setting day, Schlabach isn’t ready to give him the starting job. However, he believes a lingering injury or ineffective play by Daniels upon his return could change things. 

“In Daniels’ absence, former walk-on Stetson Bennett had a record-setting day against the Blazers, throwing five touchdowns in the first half,” wrote Schlabach. “He is clearly Georgia’s No. 2 quarterback, but Daniels’ injury would probably have to linger, or he would have to struggle mightily in his return, for Bennett to reclaim the starting job.”

In 2020, Bennett had an extended opportunity to showcase his ability as the Bulldogs starting quarterback. However, he never had a performance like he did on Saturday.

Following the game, Smart mentioned how proud he was of Bennett.

“I’m really proud of the way Stetson’s handled himself,” Smart said after the win on Saturday. “Nobody’s been better to the University of Georgia than Stetson Bennett in terms of his work. He doesn’t get as many reps as a lot of other guys, so I was proud of him and his success today.”

While he threw five touchdown passes on Saturday, Bennett only threw eight all season last year. Additionally, he threw six interceptions in the process.

His fantastic performance is cause for optimism, but Bennett likely won’t get another chance to duplicate it if Daniels is healthy.

Kirby Smart on status of Georgia quarterbacks

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart offered an update on starting quarterback JT Daniels, who missed the Bulldogs week two matchup against UAB, and added an update on Stetson Bennett, who started on Saturday in relief of Daniels.

“JT (Daniels) feels much better he’s continued to improve,” Smart told reporters on Tuesday. “He’s better now than he was Saturday. I don’t know that he’s 100% but he’s certainly getting closer to that. Stetson (Bennett) is repping, JT is repping and Carson’s (Beck) repping”

Smart added that Bennett is dealing with an injury of his own.

“Stetson’s actually got some lower back issues that he strained some stuff but he’s able to go but I don’t know if he’s 100%,” Smart said. “He’s been dinged up since Monday morning but he went out and practiced as well. So they’re all three practicing. I think Carson’s 100% healthy but the other two are still pushing back.”

While the Georgia quarterback room may be banged up, it’s evident the Bulldogs are in good hands nevertheless.

On3’s Tim Verghese contributed to this article.