On3 Roundtable: Rusty Mansell dishes inside scoop on the Georgia quarterback situation

Quarterback is perhaps the biggest question mark for Georgia heading into the 2023 season. The Bulldogs have big shoes to fill after Stetson Bennett, who led the team to back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022, is on to the NFL.

Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton are all in a competition to replace Bennett as QB1. Each had their moments this spring, but as DawgHQ’s Rusty Mansell explained in a recent interview with JD PicKell on On3 Roundtable, Beck stands out as the frontrunner among those three.

That doesn’t mean he has the job locked up, however, as Mansell added that the competition is still open with spring ball wrapping up two weeks ago.

“About the last two weeks, Carson Beck really separated himself a little bit and he (carried) that into that spring game where he had a great game,” Mansell said. “But here’s what I’ll say: nobody on that roster has played a meaningful minute yet. Nobody has been the guy on Monday that’s gonna face Auburn. A guy that’s gonna face Florida. A guy that’s gonna face Tennessee in Knoxville. I caution sometimes to say, ‘this job is done.’ It’s not done. I am right now still thinking Carson Beck is the guy, but you’ve gotta see it play out on the field. That will not be answered until some point in the season. But right now I think Carson Beck is that guy.”

Beck brings the most experience of anyone on the roster, having spent the past three seasons in Athens. He is a former four-star recruit who ranked as the No. 16 quarterback in the 2020 class according to the On3 Industry Rating, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Beck led all quarterbacks with 231 yards and a touchdown on 15-of-22 passing in the G-Day game. He appeared in seven games behind Bennett last season to finish 26-of-35 passing for 310 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. His best performance came against Vanderbilt, where he finished 8-of-11 passing for 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

But as Mansell mentioned, most of Beck’s reps to date have come during garbage time. He’ll need to prove he can be equally as productive when it counts if he is to not only win the starting job, but also keep it.

If he struggles, Vandagriff and Stockton will be waiting in the wings. Vandagriff is a former five-star recruit who ranked ahead of names such as Drake Maye and JJ McCarthy and the 2021 class. Whether he, Beck or even Stockton is named the Georgia starting quarterback, Mansell believes the Bulldogs have the talent to make the transition from Bennett a smooth one.

“Brock Vandagriff staying, that was a big deal for Georgia,” he said. “You look around the country and everybody I think would be extremely happy to walk into fall camp with Gunner Stockton, Brock Vandergriff and Carson Beck in your quarterback room.”

The Bulldogs ranked third in the SEC in passing yards per game this past season with 295.9. They’ll hope to maintain their status as one of the conference’s premier aerial attacks in 2023 as they move on to a new quarterback and have their sights set on a three-peat.