Kirby Smart clearly hints at who leads Georgia’s quarterback battle

The Georgia quarterback battle is in full swing this year as Kirby Smart sets out to replace Stetson Bennett IV. It sounds like one QB has an edge.

Georgia football has won two national championships in a row becoming the first program to go back-to-back in the College Football Playoff era.

You better believe the Bulldogs are coming into the 2023 season looking for a three-peat, a feat which has not been accomplished since the 1930s.

Many things could prevent Georgia from achieving their goal. One of the biggest would be picking the wrong quarterback to replace Stetson Bennett IV.

Kirby Smart has several QBs to choose from, including junior Carson Beck and sophomores Brock Vandagriff, a former five-star, and Gunner Stockton.

Smart’s assessment of his quarterback room after the first scrimmage on Apr. 1 was telling. Just reading between the lines, it’s time to just come out and say it: Carson Beck has the edge.

Kirby Smart hinted that Carson Beck leads Georgia QB battle

Smart didn’t make that claim outright. Obviously he’s not going to be that candid about the pecking order during spring camp. Just take a look at what he said and it’ll become clear.

The head coach told reporters that “demeanor and communication” are the two biggest things he’s evaluating in his quarterbacks. He wants a decision-maker at quarterback who knows how to operate the offense.

Now let’s look at how he described each quarterback:

"“(Beck) understands (the offense) inside and out. He communicates it, gets things correct. He had a couple of poor decisions and choices today, but he also made some plays. He made some really good throws. He has really good presence in the pocket to move around.“Brock made some plays. He made some plays getting out of the pocket. He made some good throws. He had a couple of downfield throws I think he wishes he had back, give us a chance in some 50-50 situations and keep the ball in bounds with that, but he did a really good job in (the) two-minute (drill), and then Gunner made some plays.“Gunner made some plays with his feet. He’s still, the administration of the offense and getting everybody lined up, getting going, getting the call in … he’s growing and getting better. He made some nice throws. I’m going to keep repeating myself, but we’ve got three pretty good quarterbacks. They’ve grown each one of them, and they’re all three different in their own right.”"

Vandagriff and Stockton are clearly talented quarterbacks. But it’s worth noting that it’s Beck who checked the two boxes that Smart highlighted as the most important for a Georgia quarterback: Demeanor and communication.

Beck understands the offense and communicates it to his teammates. He has pocket presence.

Sure, he made mistakes on Saturday. All quarterbacks want throws back, especially during spring practice when miscues are expected. Learning from them is the hard part and it seems like the Bulldogs trust Beck to do that.

Last week on an episode of The Players Lounge, veteran defensive lineman Warren Brinson said, “Carson Beck is that guy.” He praised him for being the first one in and last one out. He talked about him like he was going to be the starter.

He might just be. For now, the QB battle looks like his to lose.