Georgia coach Kirby Smart says Carson Beck leader for QB1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Georgia coach Kirby Smart told ESPN on Tuesday that Carson Beck has the inside track at this point to be the Bulldogs’ quarterback this season.

“He’s certainly the leader, but hasn’t done enough to say he’s the starter,” said Smart, whose Bulldogs have won back-to-back national championships.

Beck, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior, is vying with redshirt sophomore Brock Vandagriff and redshirt freshman Gunner Stockton to replace Stetson Bennett as the Bulldogs’ quarterback. Beck was Bennett’s backup a year ago and attempted just 10 passes as a redshirt freshman in 2021.

Smart said he probably wouldn’t know for sure if Beck’s the guy until the Bulldogs’ second scrimmage of the preseason.

“We’ll know when they go against the defense and they’ve got 10 third downs in a row and we’re blitzing the hell out of them,” Smart said. “We’ll find out then because they’ve got to go against competition.”

Smart noted that Beck at one point was ahead of Bennett in the Bulldogs’ quarterback pecking order when Beck was No. 2 on the depth chart behind J.T. Daniels. Bennett was then No. 3.

“There was a time when the coaching staff had Beck in front of Bennett, so we inherited a pretty good quarterback if we thought this guy was better than Stetson Bennett,” Smart said. “People forget that, but there was a leapfrog in there and Stetson ended up being the best guy and it turned out to be the right decision.”

In some of the past Georgia quarterback battles, Smart said the Bulldogs probably had more weaknesses and issues in other areas and should be better equipped now to handle any quarterback questions that might arise.

“We still have weaknesses, but we have a more stable ground right now,” Smart said. “We have less holes and maybe that helps cover up for it if the quarterback is not playing as well as Stetson. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Bennett, a finalist for the Heisman Trophy last season, passed for 6,989 yards, 56 touchdowns and 14 interceptions over his last two seasons at Georgia.