With spring practices mostly closed, it’s tough to assess the 2022 Dawgs at this point.
Still, an overview of the returning players and the holes to be filled in the starting lineup suggests that how things go at two key position groups — quarterback and cornerback — could have a lot to say about what sort of season the defending national champion Bulldogs will end up having.
The scenarios for the two positions are very different. At quarterback, the Dawgs return an obvious starter in Stetson Bennett (even if some corners of Bulldog Nation are still grumbling about it). They also have a lot of talent behind Bennett, battling for the crucial backup spot.
Meanwhile, at cornerback, Kirby Smart said this week, “we have never in seven years been this thin.”
Looking at quarterback first, this is, of course, always a key spot for any team. The days of being able to get by with a “game manager” who simply hands off the ball to a bevy of backs, or a pure passer, who stays in the pocket, are mostly past — which is, in part, why JT Daniels never regained his starter’s job last season.
Of course, the Dawgs, in the Smart era, have tended to be rather unpredictable at QB (see Jacob Eason, Justin Fields and Jamie Newman). Things could change; something could happen with Bennett. So, the competition between Carson Beck and Brock Vandagriff for the No. 2 spot takes on added significance. And, even early enrollee freshman Gunner Stockton might work his way into the conversation as the season progresses.
Nevertheless, for the first time in his career at Georgia, Bennett approaches a season as the clear No. 1, and his combination of experience, running ability and decent passing skills would appear to bode well for the Dawgs. He’s no longer primarily known as a “former walk-on turned starter.” Now, he’s a national championship-winning QB, making some big NIL bucks on the side. Heck, he was part of the answer to a “Jeopardy” question this week!
But, as his head coach reminded him publicly, there’s still room for improvement.
“He’ll be the first to tell you he can still grow and get better,” Smart said at a Tuesday press conference. “We have high expectations for Stetson, but we also have high standards for what we expect Stetson to do, in terms of leading our offense, going to class, and doing the right thing. We are still challenging him to do those things.”
On top of that, Smart wants Bennett to make better decisions. “We were late over the middle a couple of times with balls late in the season,” the coach said. “He’ll be the first to say he didn’t play perfectly. He made some really good plays for us with his feet, his legs, his decision-making, but you want to take out some of the ‘bonehead’ throws, some of the ‘bonehead’ mistakes that he sometimes makes.”
Indeed, Bennett did a lot of great things last season, but he did have a tendency to hold on to the ball too long in some instances, and also to throw into double or triple coverage at times.
Smart said that Bennett has “done some really nice things this spring, but that should be expected for a guy with his experience level. … I think he can grow.”
For the most part, Bennett appeared to agree with his coach when he met with reporters this past week. The quarterback did make a vague reference to the fact that some of what he heard from the coaching staff before he decided to return for his super-senior season was “what I wanted, some of it wasn’t.”
But, the sixth-year player said that he doesn’t think “I’m as good as I’m going to be, and I don’t think this team is as good as it’s going to be.”
Asked about specific areas that need improvement, Bennett answered, “I think the leading stat for winning or losing football games, besides explosive plays, is turnovers. So, you can’t turn the ball over. And, then, another one is lost-yardage plays. So, how can we not turn the ball over, and, in critical moments when we need first downs, and how can we get out of a bad play and turn it into a good play? How can a negative-yards play turn into a positive play?”
When a quarterback can do both things, he said, it can be “an incalculable benefit.”
As for his thoughts on competing for the starting job, “You’d like to say that you always prepare to be the guy, and you always work the same that you would,” Bennett said.
“We’re all human, and you’re kind’ve like ‘Jeez, sometimes it seems like I’m not going to play at all.’”
You definitely get the impression he was speaking from firsthand experience there.
But, Bennett said, if “somebody comes in that’s better than me, they’re going to start; it’s the University of Georgia.”
Speaking of where the quarterback group stands right now, as a whole, Smart said, “I think all four of those guys are in different spots. You can go all the way from Gunner, just getting here, to Stetson, being 23, 24 years old and having seen a lot of football.”
Smart said the Georgia coaches are ‘’trying to be innovative, creative in the way we practice, because quarterback development is critical. So, if you have quarterbacks that aren’t able to get reps, how do they get better? So, I’m big on challenging our staff to be creative in the ways we rep those guys, who goes with what groups, how many reps a week you get, what percentages. We want to see these guys get better.
“It’s easy when you have three groups of offensive linemen. They all get work. But, you might have four quarterbacks, and it’s hard to get those guys enough work. ... They can’t all play, so it’s a matter of growing them to get them in a position to where they can be successful.’’
Bennett’s assessment of the other quarterbacks: “Carson’s a vet now; Carson’s a stud. Gunner has come in, and he takes over the playbook. He’s asking me questions, wants to learn. ‘What’s this, what’s that, what’s this mean, what’s that mean?’ He’s soaking all that up like a sponge. Brock’s getting better every day. He’s in the playbook, and doing his thing.”
And, how do the competing QBs get along? “I think we have an awesome relationship,” Bennett said. “I try to foster that in the quarterback room. Whenever those guys need help, I’m always there for them.”
The situation is a bit more unfocused in the defensive secondary, where cornerback Kelee Ringo, of national championship pick-6 fame, and safety Christopher Smith are the only returning starters, though William Poole and Dan Jackson have a good bit of experience.
It’s a “big opportunity” for up-and-coming players, Smart said, mentioning Kamari Lassiter, Nyland Green and Daylen Everette. Those players, he said, “are taking every single rep with the ones and twos. Those guys are out there.”
As for Ringo, who was burned a few times in coverage during the national championship game, before his moment of heroics, Smart put it this way: “What he can’t do is let that play distract or deter his development. He’ll be the first to tell you that he made an outstanding play, a play that will live in glory and be great, but he also had some plays in the game that weren’t so good. He’s got some tackling situations that he has to improve on.
“What makes me so proud of Kelee is that he is taking it out there to the field. He’s really working on the physical part and being a better tackler. If anything, that play gives him a little more confidence to play with.”
Of course, the defensive backs have a new coach this season, too, in Fran Brown, but Smart appears to be expecting great things from his new hire.
“I think he is very charismatic,” the head coach said. “Fran has done a tremendous job at establishing relationships. … I was very pleased with how hard he works, his relationships with the players, he is relentless on the road recruiting. I mean the guy communicates so well and pushes so hard, I think he is going to be a really good coach. I think he is a rising star in this profession, because of the energy he puts into it.”
However, it’s not just Brown coaching the defensive backs, returnee Jackson noted. SEC coaching veteran Will Muschamp, now co-defensive coordinator, is giving the secondary a lot of attention. Muschamp “has been a game-changer for me,” Jackson said, “and, I would say, all the other DBs. Having that great defensive mind in there, critiquing us every day, that’s something I’m really grateful for. We’re blessed to have him, for sure.”
So, it’s clear what Smart thinks needs to happen; now, he and his staff must make it so.
If they do, and Smart can get the sort of progress he wants from Bennett and the other quarterbacks, and the same with Ringo and the younger defensive backs, it will go a long way toward keeping the Dawgs performing at a championship level.
