Kirby Smart comments on UGA quarterbacks ahead of Georgia-Florida

If you were looking for clarity on Georgia’s quarterback situation entering Saturday’s rivalry game against Florida, Monday wasn’t your day. Kirby Smart spoke to the media assembled in Athens and was asked several questions regarding the signal callers. The only common theme in his answers was that it’ll be based on their performance in practice.

“Everything’s going to be based on practice. No decision’s been made whatsoever,” Smart said. “He (JT Daniels) did practice on Wednesday and did pretty good, practiced on Thursday and did pretty well in terms of he didn’t have pain before, during or after. That’s what we’re looking for. ‘Is it bothering you today?’ ‘No.’ ‘Can you throw today?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Did you throw today?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘How’s it feel after?’ ‘Not pain there.’ We’ll continue down that same path with him today to see how he feels.”

Smart added that Daniels and the team had Friday, Saturday and Sunday away from the field this past weekend with it being a bye. If you look at the time between the end of the last practice and the start of Monday’s, it’s almost four full days off. That’s allowed Daniels time to continue to rest up ahead of this all-important week.

“It all depends on where JT is and where Stetson (Bennett) is and what gives us the best chance to win,” Smart said. “Stetson’s done a good job since he’s been playing, and JT’s done a good job when he’s played. The good thing is, we feel like we’ve got really three or four good quarterbacks ready to play.”

Chemistry and Continuity Concerns

Chemistry with the pass catchers is also a part of the decision making process. However, Smart has no concerns about the connection between Daniels and the wide receivers. In fact, he said that the skill players really don’t pay much attention to who’s in at quarterback and should feel comfortable with Daniels and Bennett, along with Carson Beck who has gotten reps with the first team at times this season.

“We’ve had a revolving door in terms of guys that have gone there,” Smart said. “I really don’t think it’s a big deal for the offensive players in terms of who’s in there and continuity.”

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Ladd McConkey agrees. He and Daniels built chemistry last year on scout team before Daniels made the jump to running with the ones later in the season. That continued into the spring and fall. Furthermore, he’s gotten his fair share of reps with Beck and Bennett as both vied for backup duties behind Daniels. Then, when Daniels was out, those number of reps only grew. So, he feels comfortably with any quarterback that the Bulldogs could throw out there.

“It’s (continuity) everything, but really that comes during the offseason,” McConkey said. “Getting those reps, throwing on air, getting the timing down, knowing how I’m coming out of my breaks, knowing how other receivers come out of their breaks, that’s something that we developed in the offseason working every day. It really is a big factor.”

“We’re confident in both of our quarterbacks,” he added. “They’ve done a great job preparing in the offseason and all the way up to this point. We really are so lucky to have two quarterbacks that are going to go out and compete at a high level in the SEC. We’re thankful for that.”

McConkey said that he’s noticed Daniels come back well through these last few practices, getting in a rhythm once again. He’s been able to “get everything strengthened” and “stayed prepared through the whole time he was out.” Daniels was at practice each and every day, didn’t slack off doing his film routine and made a point to help out Bennett however he could, bouncing ideas off of each other based on what they were seeing in opponents. McConkey wouldn’t call Daniels’ return to normalcy knocking off the rust but did reiterate his effort to get back in the swing of things.

Chance to See Both on Saturday

Last week, Smart told ESPN’s Chris Low that Georgia needs both quarterbacks ready to go for the remainder of the season. As he put it, ‘There are teams we play that we have to be able to use the quarterback in the run game. Well, that’s Stetson. There are teams we play that you have to get the ball out quickly and be really accurate. That’s JT.” However, on Monday, Smart wasn’t quite as forthcoming about the likelihood that both quarterbacks play on Saturday.

“Is it likely that we will see both of them? I don’t know. I haven’t seen practice today,” Smart said. “I’d like to see practice today to know a little better about, where is he (Daniels) at. Based on Wednesday and Thursday, he was able to throw without pain. That’s step one. The next step is, ‘Can I move? Can I throw with accuracy? Can I do all the things that are required to play quarterback?’ I don’t know if he can do those things just yet, and we’ll see by how he practices this week.”

“I’m really okay with whoever the best guy is to give us the best chance to win,” he added. “That’s based off practice and health, and it’ll continue to be that way the rest of the year. It’s not a question of, ‘Are you okay rotating them?’ That’s really not relevant if they’re not both completely healthy. So, I go off of are they healthy and who gives us the best chance to win based on what we think we need to offensively against their defense.”

Post-Practice Update: Daniels was observed at practice on Monday working as the first quarterback in drills by DawgsHQ. Full practice report here.