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Why Kirby Smart is right to not officially name a starting quarterback

JAke Fromm and Justin Fields will both play this season
Curtis Compton/AJC
Connor Riley
Connor Riley

Welcome to Good Day, UGA, your one-stop shop for Georgia football news and takes. Check us out every weekday morning for everything you need to know about Georgia football, recruiting, basketball and more.

Georgia doesn’t need to name a starting quarterback

The idea of a starter being super meaningful in football and basketball is kind of backwards. Sure it’s nice to be the first player out there but how important is the first possession over the course of a game? It’s far more important to be the quarterback who finishes the game, who plays on the last day drive. Ask Jalen Hurts if he would have rather started or finished the national title game(Georgia fans would hope for the latter.)

That’s why it’s pointless for  Kirby Smart to come out publicly and name Georgia’s starting quarterback. It’s pretty clear that both Jake Fromm and Justin Fields are going to play. It doesn’t matter if Fromm or Fields play the first series since the opposing teams are going to prepare for both quarterbacks anyway.

“I really haven’t even thought about it, to be honest with you,” Smart said on Wednesda. “We let those two guys compete out. Jake’s going with the ones almost the whole time. So we’ll handle it as it goes.

“It’s not like it’s a predetermined announcement on this date. It’s not really in the plans, we don’t look at it that way. We look at it at as those two guys are competing and they’ll continue to compete.”

Not that it will play out this way but if Fromm isn’t able to outplay Fields, should Smart stick with Fromm because he came out and said that Fromm is our guy? No. At any other position, Smart could easily swap out players over the course of the game. Elijah Holyfield and D’Andre Swift will likely do it on the same drives.

Some might bring up that quarterback is a different position than running back or defensive back and sure there’s a point to made there. But with good game-planning and coaching adjustments, both Fromm and Fields should be able to succeed. Some games and opponents will better suit Fromm’s abilities, while for others it might make more sense for Fields to get more snaps.

Smart isn’t naming a quarterback because he can’t decide which one is better. He’s clearly got a plan in place for both players and it will most likely be one that makes Georgia a better football team.

Dawgs dominate All-SEC team

Both the coaches and media agree. There are 12 Bulldogs worthy of being named to the preseason All-SEC team.

After the media voted 12 Bulldogs onto the three teams in July, the SEC coaches released their list of All-SEC players, and once again 12 players made the cut. The 12 players were also the most by any one school.

Georgia placed three players on the first team, as Deandre Baker, Rodrigo Blankenship and J.R. Reed made the team. Eight players made the third team. Perhaps the most interesting pick was Jake Fromm, who was named to the third team. He was behind Drew Lock and Jarrett Stidham. There’s a case to be made that you could put any three in those order. It’s also interesting that Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t named to any of the three teams.

Hopefully with all this recognized talent, Georgia can find itself back in the SEC Championship game and possibly the College Football Playoff.

A wonderful night with DawgNation at Kroger

For those who made it out last night to the DawgNation season kickoff, thank you so much for coming. It truly was a great event and I know Brandon Adams, Jeff Sentell, Mike Griffith and Chip Towers had an awesome time getting to take some of your questions and chat with you.

Fans like you showing up is why we’re able to put on events like this and it was a blast. We can’t wait to see you guys at the next one, which should be announced shortly. Below, we’ve attached some of the pictures that where captured from last night’s event as well as the live broadcast. If you didn’t make it out this time, hopefully we’ll see you next time.

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