Kirby Smart obviously hopes that nothing happens to quarterback Stetson Bennett during the course of the upcoming campaign. But if it does, it appears he’ll have plenty of confidence in Carson Beck and Brock Vandagriff to fill in.
"They're different. They're two different guys,” Smart said of Beck and Vandagriff following Saturday’s scrimmage at Sanford Stadium.
“They each possess two different parts of what Stetson does well. So, the thought process there is, you're going to find out who's the best guy, who gives you the best opportunity to win, who you're playing, what are the packages that you're running, what are you carrying that week with Stetson, and how does it fit those two guys? They continue to do a good job,” Smart said. “Carson's taken more of a body of work of the No. 2 reps than Brock has, but they both have done a tremendous job, and they're both going to be ready to go."
That should certainly qualify as good news.
Having a capable backup quarterback with the ability to step in and keep the offense humming is something every coach hopes to have.
With Beck, Vandagriff and true freshman Gunner Stockton, Smart feels he’s in about as good a situation as he could be
“I’ve said all camp, all those quarterbacks are doing an excellent job,” Smart said. “I’m so pleased with the progression of those guys, all the way down to Gunner, who hasn’t had as many reps in our system, or in general, as Brock and Carson have.”
However, Stockton has impressed coaches and teammates with his quick study of the offense, and although he’s not quite at the others’ level yet.
“We try to have a lot of two-spot where I feel like Gunner is getting reps and getting work, but there are times like in scrimmages, you don’t have two scrimmages going on, so there’s three quarterbacks on the sidelines,” Smart said. “In our practices, sometimes there’s two quarterbacks on the field because we’re doing multiple things, so that helps the development of those guys. Certainly, Carson and Brock are ahead of where Gunner is. As I said, those guys (Beck and Vandagriff) are different, but they both play winning football, do an incredible job of understanding, and they both took some of the reps with the ones in preparation, and they continue to get better.”
Smart said Beck and Vandagriff will continue to be evaluated moving forward.
“I think both of those guys have done an incredible job. They're going to be really good quarterbacks. They understand our system at a high level, they've been through springs, they're both playing winning football, and I'm pleased with both of their growths,” Smart said. “I continue to get them more opportunities, because we're trying to evaluate them as a one more than you are as a two or three, because sometimes the offensive line changes when you do that."