Smart to analyze scrimmage film to aid in quarterback decision

Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart might be closer to having a starting quarterback in mind following a rainy and wet second preseason scrimmage.

But it doesn’t appear like he’ll be too inclined to give up that information, even after evaluating how the practice went on tape.

This past week, freshman quarterback Jacob Eason received a ton more first-team reps than before, with that being a means to catch him up with veterans Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey. After all, Eason didn’t get any first-team reps during the spring.

As a result, Lambert and Ramsey rotated with the second and third teams during the week of practice.

With the added first- and second-team reps Eason received during the week, the Lake Stevens, Washington, native had a chance to show the coaching staff whether he can handle being an SEC starting quarterback as a true freshman.

But following Saturday’s rainy scrimmage, Smart wasn’t ready to commit to one quarterback or even to cut the competition down to two players — at least publicly.

“I think we’ll know that after this scrimmage, watching the tape, whether we can get two or three ready (for the season opener),” Smart said. “We’ve got a plan in our mind, but that’s not for public opinion and not to share with North Carolina and everybody else in the world. So we’ll execute the plan we’ve got at hand, and it’ll be what it’ll be.”

Georgia will now enter a 48-hour evaluation period, with quarterback being the most important position for this coaching staff to analyze. Georgia is taking Sunday off and will get back to practice Monday.

Ideally, the Bulldogs would have a top quarterback to go with by the end of next week so that he can take all the necessary first-team reps leading up to the North Carolina game Sept. 3. But it very well could be a situation where more than one quarterback plays against the Tar Heels, which could drag this competition into the season.

Smart was adamant that Saturday’s practice film will be a huge factor while weighing the total body of work in the competition.

“We’ll continue to go down this quarterback road until we figure it out,” Smart said. “But I can’t tell you anything to update you right now because I want to reserve judgment until I watch the tape, like last time.”

With intermittent rain and a 30-minute weather delay due to lightning in the area, conditions weren’t the best to evaluate quarterback play. The offensive playcalling was affected, although Smart said the running game did have some success against the defense.

“I think the goal was to get timing in the passing game, to be able to throw the ball and have timing so we can improve that from the last scrimmage,” Smart said. “That was a tougher environment to do that in. So those were the conditions we were confronted with, and I thought the offense made the most of that situation.”

Regardless of who ends up at quarterback this season, Georgia is likely to lean heavily on a rushing attack that will feature running back Nick Chubb, who is on track to play against North Carolina after his 2015 season ended due to torn ligaments in his left knee against Tennessee.

Smart was pleased with the running attack, especially in the elements the offense faced outdoors.

“I thought the offense ran the ball well,” Smart said. “That’s always a good sign but it’s something you always have to do when you’re in that kind of climate. It makes it harder.”

This story was originally published August 20, 2016 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Smart to analyze scrimmage film to aid in quarterback decision."