Kirby Smart gets out of SEC Media Days without revealing much about Georgia's QB battle

“Coach, who’s going to be the starting quarterback?”

That is often one of the most popular questions during talking season. At Georgia, Kirby Smart is running a juggernaut program that is filled with NFL talent and is chasing after the third consecutive national title. On paper, UGA enters this season with a loaded roster that could have multiple All-Americans in the starting lineup. There are many good vibes around the program, but no one really wants to talk about personnel with Smart.

There is a huge QB battle brewing in Athens. Carson Beck was QB2 last season and performed well in a small sample size. The former four-star recruit had a strong performance in the spring game, but has not officially beaten out a couple of other blue-chippers. Gunner Stockton and Brock Vandagriff are each contenders in this high-profile position battle. Smart confirmed that this battle will continue in fall camp when appearing on national television.

“Well they get to go two Saturdays in a row and fall camp against one of the best defenses in the country,” Smart said on SEC Network. “So when you put them out there against them, and you say we’re gonna do six third downs in a row, you find out a lot about a quarterback on third down more than you do on first and second. So we’re gonna put them in the heater and find out what we should do.”

Beck is currently heavy favorite to win this job after averaging 11.6 yards per attempt on 35 throws last season. That will not change, but that is not the biggest issue facing Georgia football entering another year with high expectations. The big picture issues surrounding the top program in college football are what people are interested in right now.

Smart can expect the questions to continue regarding all of the speeding incidents and the complacency — or rat poison — concerns are not going away. Georgia is chasing greatness and is now earning the benefit of the doubt from the public sphere when it comes to personnel concerns. That even includes the QB position.

The heat will be turned up in August, but this is a team that will be the SEC favorite in 2023 no matter who is calling the plays in the huddle.