JT Daniels Stetson Bennett Carson Beck

ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Stetson Bennett and Carson Beck were getting better in practice this week during his “Bulldogs Live” coach’s show.

“Both of them are getting better,” Smart said on Thursday night. “The best indicator of that is practice, to me, not really game reps. But both of those guys got to get game reps (against Vanderbilt) and grow and continue to try to show they can continue to function and make good decisions within the offense.”

The backup quarterbacks’ continued improvement was good news in light of ESPN reporting on Friday that starter JT Daniels would be a “game-time decision” for the noon contest against Arkansas on Saturday.

Smart did not discuss Daniels’ injury status on the show, nor did any members of the private audience ask him during the multiple Q & A sessions within the presentation.

DawgNation reported on Wednesday that Daniels, who is 7-0 as the Bulldogs’ starter, might be limited after missing reps in practice this week.

Even if Daniels does not start, he’s expected to be available for the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs (4-0) against No. 8 Arkansas (4-0) at Sanford Stadium.

Smart said Bennett and Beck got better preparation in practice this week than they did playing against an overmatched Vanderbilt team in Georgia’s 62-0 win last Saturday.

“It’s the number of reps and looks you get, and it’s maybe not true for all games, but the game situation we were in last week, it was a defense that was overmatched,” Smart said.

“(In practice), you get to see Stetson deal with pressure, and Carson deal with pressure, when you go against our defense each and every day.”

Bennett, who is 4-2 at Georgia’s starting quarterback including a win over UAB this season, is 22-of-30 passing for 443 yards with 6 TDs and 2 interceptions.

Beck, who was believed to be the No. 2 quarterback at the start of the season, is 5-of-13 passing for 99 yards with a TD and an interception.

Arkansas, like Georgia, has some uncertainty at the quarterback position.

KJ Jefferson left last Saturday’s game for part of the second half after taking a hard fall on his knee out of bounds in a win over Texas A&M.

Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman said on Monday he expected Jefferson to play, but when asked by DawgNation on the SEC conference call on Wednesday, Pittman refused to provide an update on his quarterbacks’ health.

Smart, meanwhile disclosed on Wednesday that Daniels’ injury was no longer to his oblique muscle, but now his late.

Smart said the lat injury bothered Daniels last week, too, which provided some explanation as to why he was pulled out in the first quarter of the win over Vanderbilt.