Kirby Smart not naming Georgia’s backup quarterback, ‘excited’ by both players

The starting quarterback position at Georgia has finally been decided and announced. But the backup quarterback role, Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart said, is still up for grabs.

When announcing that Carson Beck had won the starting job Saturday, Smart also said that the Georgia backup quarterback position had not yet been decided.

That role will be decided between Gunner Stockton and Brock Vandagriff.

“We haven’t set anything in terms of who the second quarterback is or how those reps are going to be divvied up,” Smart said. “Carson is ahead of the other guys in terms of what he understands about the offense. I’ll be honest with you: I was really impressed with the other two quarterbacks throughout camp and how far they’ve come in terms of improvement. “Coach Bobo has done a great job with those guys, and they both made a lot of plays with their feet and done some good things.”

Beck, the oldest of the three quarterbacks, was the favorite to replace Stetson Bennett IV. But Vandagriff and Stockton clearly gave him some competition and pushed him throughout the spring and summer.

Vandagriff is a former five-star recruit in the 2021 recruiting class. Stockton was a four-star prospect in the 2022 class.

“I’m excited to see those guys hopefully have an opportunity to play, compete,” Smart said. “They’ll be able to go with the ones here in the next two weeks some and get more reps and figure out even if we have a two, who that’s going to be and how’s it going to go forward.”

Beck was the backup quarterback for Georgia to Bennett last season. Vandagriff has played some snaps as a reserve quarterback over the past two seasons while Stockton has not stepped on the field yet.

But despite their lack of experience in games, Smart said they have been impressive during practice.

“They both have made plays,” Smart said. “They’ve made plays with their feet. They’ve both made good checks today. They make good decisions. I have complete confidence we can win football games with both those guys. Carson’s just ahead of them right now. I want to continue to grow both those guys because they’re like sponges. They’re picking it up. They’re getting it. They understand it. They know where to go the ball. They’ve done some good things. It’s just the few plays where things break down or a the offensive player doesn’t do the right thing and now the little bit panic mode hits and they gotta learn to give up on a play sometimes and not try to make it spectacular and just play for the next down.”