Good on Kirby Smart for not tipping his hand as to who will be the next starting quarterback for the Georgia football team.
With Stetson Bennett IV now playing for the Los Angeles Rams, it will be a new era under center for the Georgia football program, alright.
While most people expect for Carson Beck to be the guy, the Dawgs have two other very intriguing quarterbacks on their roster in Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton. By naming a starting quarterback now, it would hasten at least one of the two losers in the race to hit the transfer portal. Frankly, that may still happen, but it is not happening before SEC Media Days in Nashville.
Here is who will join Smart with Nashville for SEC Media Days to represent the Georgia program.
- Brock Bowers, tight end, junior
- Kamari Lassiter, defensive back, junior
- Sedrick Van Pran, center, junior
And here is a list of the 13 other SEC teams and who they will be sending to Nashville here shortly.
Bowers and Van Pran's inclusion were obvious, but seeing Lassiter represent the entire defense is certainly a pleasant surprise. Just don't expect to hear anything from Beck, Stockton or Vandagriff.
Georgia football: Kirby Smart refuses to tip Dawgs' hand at starting quarterback
While I don't know if all three are good enough just yet to start at Georgia, Beck, Stockton and Vandagriff are certainly good enough to start elsewhere across the Power Five. The smart money would be on Beck to win the job, as he had been Bennett's backup last year and nearly became the starter two seasons ago. However, Vandagriff is the most talented and Stockton is so competitive.
This will come down to the exact same thing that served Bennett nearly three seasons ago. Whichever quarterback his teammates respond to will win the starting job. Of course, all three are learning a slightly new offense with Mike Bobo taking over for Todd Monken as the new offensive coordinator. It is not a total deviation from what Monken did, but it should be very passing-centric.
Ultimately, it does not serve Smart or the Georgia program to announce a starting quarterback before they have to. Frankly, the latest we would need to know by would be the SEC opener vs. South Carolina at home on Sept. 16. That would be the third game on what looks to be the easiest Georgia 12-game schedule I can ever remember. May the best man win! Smart has all the power.
By waiting until the last second to name a starter, Georgia will surely end up starting the right one.