After dominating the headlines of spring practice, Georgia's quarterback competition finally made a public appearance.
Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff, and Gunner Stockton took all the quarterback reps during Saturday's G-Day intrasquad scrimmage. The last of Georgia's three spring scrimmages served as the latest step in the battle to be under center come September.
"I was really pleased with all three quarterbacks, and what you saw today was some of what we’ve seen all spring," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. "We have three good quarterbacks who can make the throws and do a really good job, I was pleased with those guys.”
Of the trio, Beck had by far the most impressive showing.
Beck spent the first half leading the No. 1 offense against the first-team defense. He finished that half 13-of-18 passing for 211 yards and a touchdown.
"I felt like everything was working," Beck said after the game. "[Mike] Bobo was really dialing it up. I just told him that after, when we just talked. He was dialing it up, we were executing, guys were getting open, guys were catching balls, guys were making plays. It’s really easy whenever we do that and we’re executing on all levels."
Beck had several impressive throws in the first half. Among the highlights was a perfectly-placed 39-yard pass to tight end Brock Bowers on a wheel route. Only one pass, a tipped ball over the middle, really came close to being in harm's way.
Composure has been one of Beck's main areas of emphasis as he works to earn the starting job. He said his mindset coming into this spring game was to take each play as it comes and have fun, as opposed to stressing over everything.
Those touch passes served as a perfect example of how calm Beck feels in the pocket nowadays.
"I’d say when I was younger, it was definitely harder, because you feel the energy of the fans and the crowd, being in Sanford or just any stadium in general," Beck said. "The adrenaline starts rushing. Now, that kind of comfortable, laid-back aspect, just let things come as they go and just execute."
Vandagriff's performance had a few more ups and downs.
He had a strong first half with the second team, completing 9-of-14 passes for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also showcased his scrambling ability, at one point breaking a 23-yard scramble.
"The play was like an across the board play, so basically just right to left," Vandagriff said. "I was working my one to two. When I got to my three, I saw a hole. They say green grass, haul butt. I don’t curse, but that’s what they say. I just took off and took what the defense gave me."
Vandagriff switched teams to command the first-team offense in the second half. That didn't go as well, as he completed 4-of-11 passes for 40 yards. He also had an interception at the hands of Tykee Smith.
"That one was on me," Vandagriff said. "It was kind of a three-level route. We had a guy taking off the top, we had a guy intermediate, and a guy in the flat. Tykee, he’s going to shuffle underneath that bow out, that’s what we call it, and make me throw it to the flat route, which I believe was Delp on that play, and they’re going to rally to the flat. I got a little greedy, thought I could put it in there, but I couldn’t."
Even still, Vandagriff said he felt he had a good spring. He improved at decision-making, both in knowing where he's going with the ball and when to tuck it and run.
That scramble showed the improvements in the second area. Although he still held the ball on a few occasions, Vandagriff appeared fairly decisive through the air as well.
Running is a key aspect of the game for both Vandagriff and Stockton. Vandagriff noted that some plays might or might not be called, depending on which quarterback is in the game.
It's all about tailoring the offense to the quarterback's strengths, which Smart and company are continuing to work toward.
"You’re going to have that in whatever system you’re in," Vandagriff said. "Coach Bobo, he’s done a great job of just explaining when that’s going to happen and stuff like that. I think Gunner had a rushing touchdown today. They might have pulled the read key off of that and just told that guy to block if me or Carson was in."
The competition will continue as each quarterback makes his case. As Smart noted after G-Day, there are still about 75 percent of the "practices" remaining until next season when factoring in summer workouts, 7-on-7 sessions, and the like.
That means there's plenty of time for either Beck, Vandagriff, or Stockton to prove they should be the one to lead Georgia's quest for a three-peat.
