Transfer quarterback JT Daniels will be cleared for Saturday’s game against Auburn (7:30 p.m., ESPN), head coach Kirby Smart announced during Monday’s Zoom press conference with reporters.
“JT will be cleared,” Smart said. “But I don’t know how much that changes the picture in terms of reps and development.”
Nevertheless, the news that Daniels will be cleared is just what many fans were waiting to hear.
Despite a strong performance by junior Stetson Bennett (20 of 29 for 211 yards, two touchdowns) to spark the Bulldogs to their 37-10 win over Arkansas, fans have been awaiting the transfer from Southern Cal.
However, it remains to be seen whether or not he will play.
“All I can tell you is, we’re going to work with all the guys we’ve got and put the best guy in there that will give the best opportunity to win a football game,” Smart said. “JT has to show us that he can function with his knee. We thought he would be cleared by this time anyway. But those guys will all compete; Carson (Beck) will, too.”
According to Smart, head trainer Ron Courson has been busy putting Daniels through a battery of tests to ensure he's ready to go.
“Ron would have to explain that in-depth, they're looking for a percentage index, girth testing, his knee being closer to the same size as the other; they do a single-leg hop test, and they measure his ability to move around on that knee compared to his other knee,” Smart said. “They are looking for certain parameters to be able to hit that number. He was able to do that, so that was very fortunate, but he’s still got to go out there and prove to us that he can do it in a game-like situation. That's not easy to do during the week at times.”
Although time will tell whether or not Daniels is able to give it a go, Bennett's play against the Razorbacks certainly gave Smart reason for optimism.
Experience, he said, was key
“I thought Stetson did a good job when he came in. He's played a lot of football. He had good composure, he handled the pocket well, he handled the protections well. Stetson has seen a lot of football in his time," Smart said. "He sees stuff he sees from our defense day-in and day-out, taking all the reps last year. He was very calm and poised."
As for Mathis, Smart said the redshirt freshman's performance wasn't as bad it might have looked.
"D’Wan did a lot of good things, guys. It’s not his fault a play got called back for holding. It’s not his fault a guy missed a pick up on third down—and he almost turned that into a first down," Smart said. "He did a lot of good things early on there, and we just never could put good things back to back. Every drive he had came to a stop for some reason or another.”
Smart was asked about the importance of getting his quarterback situation settled sooner rather than later.
“It’s a lot more important how we play around him and how we support him, because whoever’s able to do that the best and get the most of the people around them is going to be the guy who moves the ball and produces," he said. "At the end of the day, that’s what we want to do. If that’s one guy, two guys, we’re not putting ourselves in a pigeonhole, saying, ‘We can only have one quarterback.’ We’ve got to develop all of our quarterbacks."
Ultimately, everything else will take care of itself.
Until then, Smart said that he and offensive coordinator Todd Monken are going to make the best decisions they can.
"I’m not going to sit here and say we can’t play multiple guys, or it’s got to be one guy. I certainly think it’s easier when it’s one guy, in terms of continuity with your team and things like that," Smart said. "We’ve got to do what gives us the best chance to win. That’s what we’ll continue to do as coaches.”
