Kirby Smart ready to turn up heat on Georgia QB competition, see who goes ‘full metal jacket’

Carson Beck (UGA Sports Comm) Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) during the Bulldogs 33-0 win over Samford in a game played September 10, 2022, at Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. Photo credit Perry McIntyre. (Perry McIntyre/© 2022 Perry McIntyre)

July 28, 2023 at 2:37 p.m. UTC

By Mike Griffith, DawgNation

ATHENS — The Georgia quarterback position ultimately comes down to one thing: Trust.

Kirby Smart expounded on that very thing while conducting his rounds of interviews at SEC Media Days last week in Nashville, from the ballroom stage to the SEC Network side sets and then Radio Row.

“Decision making,” Smart said, asked on Atlanta’s 680 A.M. what he needs to see to determine his starting quarterback. “Good decisions, smart with the ball and what you do on third down.”

Rising fourth-year QB Carson Beck would seem to be in the drivers’ seat to win the job, as he has a great deal more game action experience than Brock Vandagriff or Gunner Stockton, and he received the opening first-team reps in the spring game.