Can Georgia football fans trust Kirby Smart to pick the right quarterback?

Kirby Smart has yet to announce his starting quarterback against Auburn, but can fans trust the Georgia football head coach to make the right call?

In January, Kirby Smart probably did not expect to find himself in a quarterback controversy two weeks into the 2020 season. After Jake Fromm decided to forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the NFL draft, Jamie Newman announced his intention to transfer from Wake Forest to Georgia. Newman, who finished his final season at Wake Forest with a combined 3,300 yards passing and rushing, looked primed to be the Bulldogs’ new starter.

Enter the pandemic and the chaos it wrought on the college football season. Jamie Newman opted out of the 2020 season, demolishing the obvious bridge to 2021 with either a fully healthy J.T. Daniels or more seasoned D’Wan Mathis, himself overcoming brain surgery.

With J.T. Daniels not yet ready to play, Smart decided to roll with Mathis for the first half of Georgia’s first game against Arkansas. After the redshirt freshman struggled to get anything going, Smart turned to Stetson Bennett IV (quite a family name). Bennett managed the overall anemic offense en route to a 37-10 victory.

If and when J.T. Daniels is ready for gameday, Smart will find himself with three choices at quarterback. Is there any reason to believe he will make the right call? Let’s go to the tape.

Do you trust Smart to make the smart quarterback choice for Georgia football?

In his first year as head coach, Smart inherited senior Greyson Lambert who never topped 2,000 yards passing in a season and opted instead to start true freshman Jacob Eason. Score one for Smart knowing what he’s doing at quarterback. With all due respect to Lambert, Eason was the second-best quarterback prospect in the country.

The next season, Eason got hurt, and another true freshman got the nod in Jake Fromm. In this case, Smart didn’t have a choice, so he doesn’t get any credit. It’s also where he appears to have lost his mind.

Once Eason was healthy, Smart decided to stick with Jake Fromm. Fromm had some success but doesn’t have the talent Eason does. Comparing their final college seasons, it’s not even close. Eason, on a subpar Washington team, blows Fromm out of the water.

Before you say, yeah but the SEC has better defenses, it’s a different offensive system, Fromm made it to the National Championship game, you don’t change horses midstream or any other stale platitude, just look at what the NFL thinks. Eason, for all of the growing he needs to do (especially in the pocket), was selected in the fourth round, Fromm was selected in the fifth. Even coming out of high school Eason was the better player. Fromm has always been closer to A.J. McCarron than Eason.

But fine. Maybe he learned from his mistake. Smart goes on to sign the best dual-threat quarterback in the country, Justin Fields. Surely, surely Smart will make the right call here. Yes, Fromm has been successful, but Justin Fields is Justin Fields! And this wasn’t a Kelly Bryant (senior) vs Trevor Lawrence (freshman) type situation. Fromm was just a sophomore! Smart let Justin Fields — a guaranteed first round draft pick and Heisman finalist to be– walk off to Ohio State so that he could stick with a fifth round draft pick who won’t start in the NFL.

Let’s tally it up. Jacob Eason was an easy pick over Lambert, who wasn’t Smart’s guy. But let’s go ahead and give Smart credit there. Then he lets Eason leave for Washington so that he can stick with Jake Fromm. Yes, Fromm made it to the Championship game, but Eason was a more talented player. If we give Smart credit for Eason over Lambert, we have to ding him for Fromm over Eason.

So far it’s a tie. Maybe even the slightest of edges for Smart knowing what he’s doing.

Then there is Fields. It is inexcusable that Smart couldn’t give Fields the starting job. If you have a twice in a decade talent like Fields, you cannot let him leave. It’s malpractice. The man threw one interception during the regular season last year! He’s a better passer than Fromm, and he’s more mobile than Fromm.

Smart’s past decisions neatly line up with his choice of quarterbacks this year. Eason is Daniels. Experienced, more skilled, but coming off of an injury. Mathis is unproven but a more skilled player than the one who finished the Arkansas game. So naturally, Bennett is bound to get the nod. He’s the only one who has a win in a Georgia uniform.

No. Georgia fans should not trust Smart to make the right decision at quarterback.

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