ATHENS -- The postponement of Saturday’s game against Missouri came just about the time Georgia was homing in on its next starting quarterback.
Indications are it would have been either D’Wan Mathis or JT Daniels, as four-game starter Stetson Bennett was unable to throw the first two days of practice. Freshman Carson Beck also took snaps with the No. 1 offense early in the week, but appears to be out of the mix as the Bulldogs shifted to game preparation.
“We got a lot more reps in fall camp, but we think he’s going to be a really good player,” Smart said Wednesday. “I think if you look across the country, it’s hard to prepare two people for the week of a game. … But he will continue to get a lot of work throughout this week and the coming week. Again, I think he’s growing, getting better.”
Now that the Missouri game has move to “TBD” status, the focus has turned to the Bulldogs' next game, which is against Mississippi State, scheduled for Nov. 21 in Athens. That could allow Bennett to work his way back into the conversation. More likely, though, with the preparation investment Georgia already has made into getting Daniels and Mathis ready to play, the focus will be on refining the offense and game plan to fit their respective skill sets.
For Mathis, that might be expanding on a strong zone-read run, play-action pass game. For Daniels, it likely would be on a quick-throw, high-tempo air attack.
Considering those decidedly different approaches, the extra preparation time between games could be especially beneficial for offensive coordinator Todd Monken and the other Georgia coaches to sort it all out. They know they have to do something that’s different, as the Bulldogs have sunk to No. 80 in the nation in total offense (382.8) and 87th in passing (209.3) through the first six games. They’re also down to 80th in turnover margin, with nine interceptions among their 12 turnovers.
Daniels, the transfer from Southern Cal, is the biggest mystery in all this. The 6-3, 210-pound sophomore has more playing experience than all the other quarterbacks combined. Smart was asked what he’s seen from Daniels, who was medically cleared from a knee injury seven weeks ago.
“I have seen that he has a quick release,” Smart said. “… He’s got good command and presence, meaning he understands the offense in terms of timing, communication, snap count, motions, all of the things you want a quarterback to be able to do. He does a good job of that.”
The big question remains Daniels' athletic ability relative to his recovery from a knee injury in September 2019. Daniels was cleared by Georgia’s medical staff seven weeks ago.
“You can’t really judge mobility in our practices, unfortunately, because that’s not real,” Smart said. “You can’t go out there and go live-tackle … so you don’t get a clean picture.”
Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes probably has as much insight on Daniels as anybody going against he scout-team offense with the No. 1 defense every week.
“He’s starting to believe in his knee, of course,” Stokes said. “That was a big thing going on. So he’s just starting to get confidence in his knee and all that stuff. I’ve seen his progress picking out coverages and knowledge and things like that. You can see that’s coming along.”
With the Missouri game off this weekend, the Bulldogs likely will scrimmage Friday or Saturday. They would much rather play a game that counts but, under the circumstances a practice game will have to do.
“Whenever you lose or get beat, you look forward to the next opportunity,” Smart said. “That’s obviously the case we’re in. … The opportunity itself is to get better. That’s what we’re going to challenge ourselves to do.”
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