Georgia hasn’t named a backup QB, but G-Day game offers plenty of hints

Spring practice is in the books.

The Georgia Bulldogs wrapped up their spring Saturday with the annual G-Day intrasquad scrimmage. The red team, which featured most of the offensive starters, topped the black team by a score of 28-23.

“Really proud of our guys for the kind of spring we’ve had,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said after the game. “We’ve had a tough, physical spring and 15 practices complete. Got a long way to go to get where we need to go, got to find some depth at some positions and got to get better at some other positions.”

Here’s what else Georgia’s head coach had to say at the conclusion of spring practice:

UGA quarterbacks get to sling it

Smart noted that in order to reduce injuries, G-Day often features plenty of passing. That proved to be the case on Saturday.

The two teams combined to fire 87 passes on the afternoon. Starting quarterback J.T. Daniels shined, completing 28-of-41 attempts for 324 yards and three touchdowns.

When he took over as the starter in 2020 against Mississippi State, Smart felt that Daniels already had command over the offense. At the conclusion of his first spring practice in Athens, that belief has only strengthened.

“He has command of it, he understands it,” Smart said. “The key is his decision-making process. We know the quarterback position, there’s probably a decision that has to be made every single play. He manages that really well for us.”

At this point, Daniels is a relatively known commodity. Saturday also showcased the players battling for Georgia’s backup quarterback position.

One of the main contenders is redshirt freshman Carson Beck, who got the most playing time of the day behind Daniels. He completed 22-of-31 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns, along with an interception via a deep pass into double coverage.

Smart has been coy on who the backup will be, but Beck’s playing time could be a clue. Georgia also put Beck in late in the first half to execute a two-minute drive that eventually led to a field goal.

“Carson didn’t always have the focus he needed last year as a freshman in terms of preparation, academics, on the field, off the field, in the meeting room,” Smart said. “Now, since we started this spring, he’s taken notes, he’s got command of it better, he’s doing better academically in the classroom. He’s trying to take a step forward and do some good things.”

This year’s G-Day also served as the debut for five-star freshman Brock Vandagriff. His first drive saw him complete all four pass attempts for 27 yards, and he also gained 14 yards on a scramble. However, his initial drive ended when he fumbled a shotgun snap away.

When senior Stetson Bennet IV is added to the mix, the Bulldogs have a deep and talented quarterback room. Smart said the staff tries to aid their development by setting up practice drills to have two signal callers on the field at the same time, thus doubling the reps available.

Although it’ll be Daniels running the show when fall rolls around, Smart has complete confidence in all the players behind him.

“I don’t know that I could ever say we’ve had four that you feel confident about,” Smart said. “These four, I feel really good about.”

Big days for Adonai Mitchell, Darnell Washington

With the amount of passes usually thrown in a spring game, G-Day usually lends itself to big days for receivers. On Saturday, a pair of Bulldog pass-catchers separated themselves from the rest.

Adonai Mitchell, the leading receiver in the game, finished with seven receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. A freshman early enrollee, he’s only been on campus a few months.

As a three-star prospect, Mitchell didn’t have the blue-chip recruiting rankings of some of his teammates. But in his first action between the hedges, he shined early and often, hauling in several catches for third down conversions and snagging a 24-yard scoring strike from Daniels just before halftime.

While recruiting Mitchell, Smart said the coaching staff paid the most attention to Mitchell’s tape instead of how many stars he had next to his name. They saw a player they felt could contribute to the team right away.

“He worked out well, he’s gotten himself in decent shape, he needs to get in better shape,” Smart said. “He made plays during the spring. When you’ve got a guy like that that steps up, it’s almost a bonus. We lost George [Pickens} and it forced him to play more, but man he picked it up fast. When Jermaine went down, he had to get even more reps. We’re really excited about it, we think he’s a really good player.”

Mitchell’s performance Saturday came as a bit of a surprise. In the case of Darnell Washington, however, his big numbers were hardly a revelation.

The huge tight end finished G-Day with four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. On his first drive of the game, he hauled in a pass from Beck down the sideline, bowled over defensive back Dan Jackson and rumbled 51 yards to set up a first and goal.

Washington came on toward the end of last season. With each passing day, he becomes more and more comfortable in Georgia’s offense and gets closer to recognizing his potential as a matchup nightmare.

“He’s a great target, he’s a big target, he’s an athletic guy,” Smart said. “He’s a weapon. We’ve got to find ways to be able to utilize him both in the passing game and in the run game because he’s a weapon in both.”

Bulldogs’ offensive line shuffled

Like the secondary, Georgia’s offensive line had a new look Saturday.

The starting unit on the red team featured junior Warren Ericson at center. Redshirt sophomore Warren McClendon returned at right tackle, while redshirt freshman Tate Ratledge worked with the first team at right guard.

Ratledge came to Athens as a four-star prospect in the Class of 2020 and appeared in just one game last season. Now, it looks as if he’s primed to see the field.

“Being a guard in the SEC, you’ve got to have a firm pocket and you’ve got to be able to move people,” Smart said. “You go against the best defensive lines every year in our conference. You’ve got to have some mass, you’ve got to have some guys that can sustain heavy rushers. We think Tate does a good job of that.”

The left side of the line featured three players in two spots. Redshirt sophomore Xavier Truss played the first drive at left tackle, with senior Justin Shaffer manning right guard. Senior Jamaree Salyer, who has been battling injuries this spring, later rotated in at both of those spots with the first-team group.

Those positions are far from settled this far from the season. Still, the desire to put the best five linemen on the field will lead to fierce competition up front as the calendar pushes toward September.

“We’re not where we need to be in the offensive line,” Smart said. “If we’re going to be a good team, we’ve got to protect the quarterback and we’ve got to be able to run the ball. That’s one of the areas we’re going to have to take some of the largest leaps to get where we want to go next season.”

G-Day spring game stats, score

Georgia’s red team defeated the black team 28-23 on Saturday.

——HOW THEY SCORED——

1st quarter

BLK: Kendall Milton 8 yd run (PAT)

2nd quarter

RED: Zamir White 2 yd run (PAT)

BLK: Jack Podlesny 35 yd field goal

RED: Adonai Mitchell 24 yd pass from JT Daniels (PAT)

3rd quarter

RED: Kearis Jackson 9 yd pass from JT Daniels (PAT)

4th quarter

BLK: D. Washington 13 yd pass from Carson Beck (Pass failed)

RED: D. Robertson 59 yd pass from JT Daniels (PAT)

BLK: Jaylen Johnson 10 yd pass from Carson Beck (PAT)

—— STAT LEADERS ——

• PASSING — JT Daniels 28-24-0, 324 yards, 3 TDs; Carson Beck 22-31-1, 236 yards, 2 TDs; Brock Vandagriff 6-9-0, 47 yards; Stetson Bennett 3-4-1, 58 yards; Jackson Muschamp 1-2, 19.
• RUSHING — Kendall Milton 8-34 yards, 1 TD; Zamir White 6-28, 1 TD; James Cook 7-26; Daijun Edwards 3-12; Kurt Knisley 4-13.
• RECEIVING — Adonai Mitchell 7-105, 1 TD; James Cook 6-61; Zamir White 6-50; Kendall Milton 5-31; Daijun Edwards 5-24; D. Robertson 4-88, 1 TD; D. Washington 4-84, 1 TD; Steven Peterson 4-60.
• INTERCEPTIONS — Lewis Cine, Dan Jackson.
• TACKLE LEADERS — Quay Walker 8; Javon Bullard 7; Ameer Speed 7; Major Burns 6; Nolan Smith 6.
• SACKS — Nolan Smith; Travon Walker; Devonte Wyatt (2); Zion Logue; Graham Collins.

This story was originally published April 17, 2021 at 6:35 PM.