Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Saturday after the Bulldogs' 38-12 win over Tennessee that his plan for choosing when Justin Fields enters games is that he has no plan.
On Monday, Smart elaborated on his postgame comment, saying the Bulldogs don’t have a hard plan on when to use their two quarterbacks entering games because it’s impossible to know when each quarterback will be of use until the game clock is running.
“You can’t have a plan, because we don't know how the game is going to go,” Smart said. “That doesn’t mean we don't have a plan in practice, doesn't mean we don't get certain reps for certain guys, but if you sit here and think that we know exactly when Justin is going to go in or when Jake is going to go in going into the game or the third series of the fourth snap in the second quarter, the game doesn't work like that.
“It just doesn’t work like that. We don’t know how they’re going to play us, what front they’re going to play us in, what pressures they're going to run. So a lot of that is determined in game, and that's why we practice.”
Georgia hosts Vanderbilt at Sanford Stadium Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network; News 95.5 and AM-750 WSB).
A sophomore from Warner Robins, Ga., Fromm has started all five games this season throwing for 924 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. As a freshman last season, Fromm led the Bulldogs to an SEC Championship and the College Football Playoff title game.
Fields, a freshman from Kennesaw, has played in all five games this season, throwing 15-of-19 for 147 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns.
While Smart has every intention of continuing to alternate his young quarterbacks in games, he said the most important factor in determining when using Fromm and Field is finding ways for both young players to continue improving.
“People forget that Jake Fromm is a sophomore, and he's played in a lot of football games,” Smart said. “He’s lot a lot of experience with the extra games he was able to play last year, but both of these guys are developing and need work, and we get them tons of reps in practice. And I think that's the most important thing is that we grow.”
