Smart still undecided on quarterbacks

Head coach Kirby Smart doesn’t appear any closer to naming a starting quarterback than he was when Georgia’s preseason practice began.

Following two weeks of practice and one scrimmage, Smart said all three quarterbacks vying for the starting job are still in the race.

There hasn’t been much separation between Greyson Lambert, Brice Ramsey or Jacob Eason, which will keep the competition continuing into the third week of the preseason.

Stepping to the podium at Saturday’s post-practice news conference, Smart figured he would get some quarterback questions and hoped to knock the topic out of the way in his opening statement.

“I’m going to reserve judgment until I watch the tape because each guy that did something good did something really bone-headed,” Smart said. “I don’t think we got anywhere in regards to the quarterback. I want to see the tape.”

Smart didn’t provide too many details as to how the quarterbacks performed during the scrimmage at Sanford Stadium. But a source with knowledge of the situation explained that it was quite the up-and-down day for all three.

Lambert held the ball too long at times and took plenty of sacks. But for all of Lambert’s issues Saturday, his highlight was a well-executed two-minute drill.

Eason, a freshman phenom, threw numerous interceptions, including ones to defensive backs Reggie Wilkerson and Mecole Hardman. Eason got a chance to lead the first team on three consecutive drives and displayed the arm strength his teammates have become accustomed to seeing.

Ramsey was said to have had the best day of the three, which included a touchdown pass to Reggie Davis. But Ramsey also threw a pick-six to Roquan Smith, in which the linebacker made a great play on the ball before taking it to the house.

Smart said the offensive coaches put together a plan for the plays the quarterbacks would run and that the goal was to spread the reps as evenly as possible.

“We had a big script we ran through,” Smart said. “With the first script of the spring, Jacob didn’t know any of the offense. He was able to roll in (Saturday), and he was able to play the scrimmage just like we practiced it. Each guy got to go to each group in different situations. Each guy took reps with the ones. I hope it came out even. I don’t know for sure.”

It’s likely that each quarterback got the same number of series with the first team during the scrimmage, but apparently Ramsey and Eason were able to log more individual reps since their drives lasted longer than Lambert’s.

It’s also worth noting that defenses are generally ahead of offenses early in the preseason. That’s another reason why a coaching staff would want to stay patient with the quarterback position, since it’s common for an offense to catch up with the defense once the installation process becomes more familiar.

“To say one guy is going to be ruled out from the scrimmage, I think I know enough to know that’s not going to be the case,” Smart said. “But we are going to have to start getting to where guys can get more reps and develop to see where we’re going.”

The Bulldogs are scheduled to scrimmage again in a week, which will be an even bigger indicator as to where things stand in the quarterback race.

“It’s a fundamental week for us, we’re going to continue to work on fundamentals, not opponents, to get us better,” Smart said. “Then in scrimmage two, we’re going to have to make some decisions coming out of it, on who gets those reps. But I can’t say sitting here before you now exactly how each guy played.”

This story was originally published August 13, 2016 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Smart still undecided on quarterbacks."