Kirby Smart provides update on JT Daniels injury

There is still no timetable for when Georgia quarterback JT Daniels could return. The Bulldogs picked up a 37-0 win Saturday at Sanford Stadium over Arkansas, another statement that they are a serious contender for the national championship this season.

Daniels entered Saturday as questionable decision, but he appeared to be in pain attempting to go through pregame warmups with the team. Daniels has dealt with a grade 1 lat strain for a week, which is unrelated to the Week 2 core injury that kept him out against UAB last month.

Evidently, JT Daniels’ lat injury was aggravated before the Arkansas game, ruling him out. And while the quarterback has proven he is Georgia’s top choice at the position, Stetson Bennett has been a strong backup. He was  just 7 of 11 for 72 yards against the Razorbacks as the Georgia rushing attack scored three touchdowns and yielded 272 yards.

Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart provided an update on Daniels’ status moving forward in his postgame press conference.

“Yeah, it’s week to week, guys. I mean, do your research on a lat injury. It’s one of the largest muscles in the body,” Smart said. “It can be strained, it can be stretched, it can be torn. Dak Prescott went through the injury, and Dak’s we think is more extreme than we think JT’s is. JT’s is a grade 1 lat sprain, and we think we’re gonna be able to get him back. But we don’t know when.”

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a similar injury in preseason camp, as Smart alluded to. Prescott’s lat injury nearly sidelined him for a month.

Kirby Smart defends Georgia quarterback room

Smart has confidence in the rest of Georgia’s quarterback room, though. The coach went out of his way when updating Daniels’ status to make sure people understood how much he believes in Bennett, Carson Beck and Brock Vandagriff.

“I know y’all don’t believe what I say, whatever, that’s coach speak,” Smart said. “We have confidence in our quarterbacks, like I have a lot of confidence in Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff goes in front of me evert day. So I’m very pleased with the quarterbacks, it’s unfortunate that JT can’t go because it’s not like we’ve done anything to make him worse. If anything, he’s had a lot of time off and we don’t know you know the oblique compounded the lat. They’re two separate injuries, it’s been flaring up on him and it’s a painful injury.

“We’re hopefully going to get him back, but I can’t explain it any more than that. But I’m not losing sleep over it, guys. Stetson Bennett is a really good quarterback, I keep saying that and people don’t believe us but he’s a good quarterback.”