On Thursday, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart told ESPN that quarterback JT Daniels is the healthiest he’s been since the Vanderbilt game on September 25.
According to Smart, though, that does not mean the coaches are going to make any drastic changes in either direction at the quarterback position.
Stetson Bennett did not go into the season as the starting quarterback, but he’s played well while Daniels has been out. Bennett has played in six of Georgia’s seven games this year and has been efficient with the football while Daniels has been battling an injury to his lat muscle.
Georgia has the week off to prepare for its rivalry game with Florida at the end of the month.
“JT practiced [Wednesday] and did about everything,” Smart told ESPN. “I thought [Wednesday] was the first time since Vanderbilt that I could have said, ‘Man, he looks like he could play.’ Now, he’s rusty, and [Thursday] will probably be the telltale practice because it will be the first time he’s gone back-to-back throwing after he threw a lot Wednesday.”
Smart then pointed out that both quarterbacks can help UGA win games. Bennett has been very productive with his feet this year, rushing the ball and escaping pressure in the pocket. Daniels is your old-school pocket passer and throws the ball with great accuracy. Smart commented on how both of their styles of play can help the Bulldogs win football games.
“I’m not sure we know who the better one is based on which game plan we have,” Smart said. “There are teams we play that we have to be able to use the quarterback in the run game. Well, that’s Stetson. There are teams we play that you have to get the ball out quickly and be really accurate. That’s JT. But the first thing with JT is that he’s got to be healthy.”
Bennett was Georgia’s starting quarterback in 2020 and had his ups and downs. Many Georgia fans have not moved past some of Bennett’s 2020 struggles, especially the Alabama loss, and are not willing to accept that the Dawgs can go all the way with him at quarterback.
Smart talked to that as well.
“I think the feeling in the outside world is that you can’t win it all [the national championship] without JT,” Smart said. “I don’t know or can’t say that’s accurate or not. I know there’s nothing that he’s shown that Stetson hasn’t shown us that leads us to believe that’s the case.”
Bennett this season has thrown for 996 yards, 11 touchdowns and only two interceptions this season while completing 69.5% of his passes. He’s only been sacked two times.
Smart also talked about how Georgia’s offense, though not putting up video game numbers like some college fans expect, has been getting the job done just fine. Georgia has been averaging 38 points per game this season.
“Usually, when the quarterback problem comes is when you’re not productive on offense,” said Smart. “We haven’t run into that. Now, we haven’t been blowing doors off, but we’ve scored and done a good job.”