Georgia football: There is no QB competition ... for now
If you were hoping for a calm, quiet year at Georgia’s quarterback position, I have just one question for you:
Have you been paying attention?
The Bulldogs had a literal Heisman Trophy finalist last season who still drew skeptical glances from many in the fandom, and you think there will be no drama between Carson Beck and Brock Vandagriff this year?
Let me be perfectly transparent: I don’t see this as a quarterback competition. I have seen enough from Beck over the past year to be convinced, despite any shakiness in Georgia’s opening win over UT-Martin, that he is the right guy to lead this team this year.
With that said, it’s absolutely worth evaluating the two quarterbacks against each other and considering what that means for the Bulldogs going forward.
Beck was shaky.
Pretending otherwise would be an insult to the standard Georgia has set for the position over the past 2 seasons. His numbers looked fine in the team’s 48-7 win on Saturday — 21-of-31 for 294 yards and a touchdown along with a rushing TD — but the vertical game, supposedly his biggest strength, never really took shape.
He overshot Arian Smith on a couple of deep balls, a very difficult thing to do, and he threw behind receivers on a couple of occasions. The offense under his leadership was forced to punt far too often, scoring just a pair of touchdowns in the first half against a vastly inferior opponent.
Vandagriff, on the other hand, turned some heads.
He tossed a 56-yard dime to newcomer Rara Thomas, then finished that drive with a 21-yard scoring strike to tight end Oscar Delp. He showed off his legs on a chunk gain that was called back due to a holding penalty. If you were looking for the quarterback who more closely resembles Bennett’s playstyle, Vandagriff was your guy. But he also demonstrated why, in my mind, Beck is the better option.
No one has doubted his physical attributes, only his full grasp of Georgia’s offense. On his first drive, Vandagriff was indecisive, double- and triple-clutching the football a couple of times. Where Beck knew his reads and maybe missed a receiver or two, in limited playtime Vandagriff looked more unsure.
So, what does this mean going forward?
Well, let’s get one thing out of the way first: Beck is the guy. He’s going to be the guy. And if he’s not the guy, my hunch is that Georgia’s three-peat pursuit will have already come to an unceremonious end.
But in terms of my perception, I’ve got 2 cents and nothing more.
Georgia’s greatest strength on offense is its weapons in the passing game: Brock Bowers. Ladd McConkey. Dominic Lovett. Arian Smith. The best thing for whoever is playing quarterback is to be able to make the reads and put the ball in the hands of his playmakers.
I love the versatility Vandagriff brings. And if I was a little more confident in his ability to make those reads, I’d probably lean more in his direction. As it stands, the Bulldogs need the guy who can keep the bus between the lines, and that’s Beck.
Here are a couple more thoughts as we enter Week 2.
Has Tykee Smith finally arrived?
Here’s hoping so.
It’s been a long journey for the Georgia defensive back. He began his career at West Virginia, developed into an All-ACC player and transferred to the Bulldogs amidst some mild fanfare. Plenty of prognosticators, and certainly fans, envisioned him as a key cog in the Georgia defense.
Injuries and perhaps some regression, however, kept that from becoming reality. Until, maybe, this season.
Georgia coaches were confident enough in his abilities in the nickel packages to move Javon Bullard inside to safety. Smith delivered with 6 tackles, 1 for loss, in the season opener, and he was a consistent presence for the defense.
He did tweak his knee and leave the game early, which is worth keeping an eye on considering his checkered injury history, but he performed at a high level. Assuming he comes back healthy, he could be a great asset this year.
Chasing milestones
All year, I’m keeping an eye on Bowers. He has a shot at setting some receiving records for Georgia this year, which is made even more impressive by the fact he’s doing it in only 3 seasons.
His 5 catches for 77 yards on Saturday moved his totals to 124 for 1,901 in his career. He needs 10 catches to enter Georgia’s top 10 of all time and 81 more to catch Terrence Edwards for most in Bulldogs history. That’s a long way off, but reachable this season. A solid showing next week of 76 receiving yards would put him in the top 10 in that category.
He had no receiving touchdowns in the opener, so he still needs 10 more to catch Edwards in that category.