Here’s something that hasn’t changed from last year: Georgia has a three-headed quarterback competition headed into camp, and the rest of the team has evidently been assigned talking points.
The first one, it seems, is to avoid talking about it as much as possible. But when they have to, they tend to say things like …
“Whoever’s gonna come out as the top quarterback is gonna be great,” senior center Brandon Kublanow said. “So I don’t think there’s as much uncertainty there as maybe to who it is, but all three of them have been great quarterbacks.”
OK, but everyone was saying that last year too. (Kublanow grinned slightly as this was pointed dout.) So what, besides Jacob Eason’s presence, is the difference?
“Probably just the offense,” Kublanow said. “We have a different offense, different coaches, a bit more energy than what it has been in the past. There’s new energy in the room for them (the quarterbacks), and I think they’ve all competed really hard.”
Head coach Kirby Smart uttered 1,934 words in his opening statement at SEC media days on Tuesday. He uttered about 2,400 more during the question-and-answer period. None of those 4,000 or so words included the following: Jacob, Eason, Greyson, Lambert, Brice or Ramsey.
Instead, it was clear that Smart brought his own talking points. Someone prefaced a question by saying “you did say you’re obviously going to put the best player on the field,” a point Smart blanched at.
“Notice I didn’t say exactly what you said, where we’re going to play the best player,” Smart said. “We’re going to play the best player that gives us the best opportunity to win football games. And I don’t know who that is.. If I knew, I promise you, I would tell you, I would give you the information.”
The media member had also asked Smart whether – considering he had an experienced senior quarterback and a “fan favorite” – how much he would weigh that?
“Zero,” Smart said. “I mean, the options we’re going to weigh are going to be what gives us the best chance to win.”
If you’re hoping for anyone here to break down each quarterback, compare and contrast, well good luck. Tight end Jeb Blazevich, who will catch passes from one of those guys, did offer up a polite response when asked about Eason.
“He had a lot of pressure, a lot of attention, so I kind of felt bad for him,” Blazevich said. “But he’s obviously worth it. He has an awesome arm. He’s a really good guy. I’m really excited to see him compete against Brice and Greyson.”
But then Blazevich was asked to say what Eason does well, and the player thought a minute and politely said he couldn’t say. Talking points.
The public did at least learn something new about one of the quarterbacks: Lambert is a PokemonGo master.
“It’s just ridiculous,” Blazevich said. “He’s always playing, and he’s always telling guys what Pokemon he’s going to get.”
So there’s that.
Opinions still abound on what will happen. Greg McElroy, the former Alabama quarterback and now an SEC Network analyst, opined on air Tuesday that Georgia would go back to Lambert, leaning on his experience for the opener. Fans and media members will continue to have their opinions.
As for Georgia players, however, they’ve been here before.
“Exactly. It’s identical,” Blazevich said, laughing. “We’ve been here, we’ve done that, it hasn’t really been much of an issue. I remember the day in camp they named Greyson the starter last year. We still had to go to practice. ..
“The way I’m looking at it is three great quarterbacks, it’ll come down to the tape, the film, their consistency. That’s what I assume the coaches are making it on. Like I said, I wouldn’t want to have to make it, because ….
Wait for it …
“I think all three are going to be great.”
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