FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A question a segment of Georgia fans have asked for weeks was directed to Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart during a Zoom session Wednesday morning.

If Stetson Bennett was not deemed the starter to begin the season, why is he now? What changed?

“We play every game independent of the previous, and we do what we have to do to put the best players out there in a position to win the game,” Smart said. “Every decision we make as coaches is to give our team the best opportunity to win the game.”

Earlier during the session, Smart confirmed unequivocally that Bennett was the starter and will get the call for Friday’s Orange Bowl (7:30 p.m., ESPN).

"Stetson is our starting quarterback," Smart said. "Again, the JT situation will be a matter of is the situation right, and also is he healthy enough."

Daniels returned to practice Tuesday for the first time in a week since testing positive for Covid-19. He, along with wide receiver George Pickens, flew to Miami on separate planes Monday evening to rejoin the team.

"We sit down as a staff and talk about it, and we had those talks throughout the year,” Smart said. “I think Stetson has played at a high level, done a really good job with our offense. He has not played perfect by any means, but he's played well.”

Smart acknowledged he’s aware that a segment of fans don't agree with his decision. However, he reminded the media on the call, that the team understands why the decision is what it is.

“It's a decision we make as a coaching staff, and for whatever reason, there are fans that may not agree with it, or may agree with it; media that may not agree with it, or may agree with it,” Smart said. “Our team understands that we're going to give our team the best opportunity to win, and Stetson does that.”

Daniels, who arrived in Miami Monday night after passing Covid protocols, practiced with the team Tuesday afternoon. Sources tell UGASports he threw the ball well. However, barring anything unforeseen, Smart didn't sound like someone who was considering making any sort of change.

“That's not to knock on JT. That's the part that's so sad about this is that you want to ask us as coaches questions. I want to answer them as honestly as possible,” Smart said. “But the hardest thing is, every time you ask a question, you drive the comparison home. Really, at the end of the day, they're both different quarterbacks, and they're both good in their own right, and I think we've got four quarterbacks capable of winning big here at the University of Georgia, and Stetson is our quarterback right now.”

Georgia and Smart don't comment specifically on issues surrounding Covid-19.

However, Georgia’s head coach did take time Wednesday to acknowledge Ron Courson for making sure the program did not suffer any major outbreak ahead of Friday’s Orange Bowl.

“Ron Courson and his staff have been unbelievable, just awesome. We've had protocols in place throughout the year,” Smart said. “It was probably not as strict earlier in the year as it was last year with the vaccination, and really the low numbers and issues. He's done a tremendous job of that. Prior to the SEC Championship, we increased a lot of things around our building, our awareness of our players, and our understanding what's going on.”

Smart revealed that Courson and his staff offered boosters to players and staff four times throughout the course of the year.

“Some of our guys have (taken them), some of them haven't, but they've really adhered to the policies we've asked them to, and been able to steer clear for the most part,” Smart said. “We had a little bout the last couple weeks that we lost some guys, and we've gotten most of those guys back, and really, that's the biggest thing—being at full strength when you have to be, and that's what we're aiming toward.”

Smart said both left tackle Jamaree Salyer (foot) and defensive back Christopher Smith (knee) are healthy and does not expect any problems Friday night.

“I think both those guys are healthy. They were fighting to get back and weren't able to do much there the weeks after Georgia Tech, leading up to Georgia Tech, and then going into the SEC Championship,” Smart said. “There weren't a lot of practice reps for them, trying to recover.”

Having almost a month off between games obviously helped. “They've had a week off before we started back, and then they've had some good practices build up. The benefit they got was a little bit of recovery time there for two days, from the time we left for Christmas, and then coming back and starting again,” Smart said. “Both those guys work hard. They're in the training room. They do what you ask. It's very important to them. So, they do the rehab necessary to be as healthy as possible.

Unlike 2017, when Georgia was coming off an SEC Championship, this time the Bulldogs obviously come in off a loss to Alabama in the title game.

For some, there’s the notion that the buzz between this year and that one is different.

Or is it?

“Oh, no, to be in the CFP is where you want to be. All the tactical motivation techniques you have for whether it's Texas, Baylor, or Cincinnati in one of the New Year's Six bowls certainly creates a different kind of energy than this, this being in the CFP,” Smart said. “Really, when you pan the room, I think we've got, I don't know exactly how many, but two or three guys that can even remember being in that CFP, and know what that was like, and when you look at those guys, they embrace that. They've been hungry for that opportunity.”

Smart said the team’s focus is where it needs to be.

“The fact that you're in the playoff, it makes the practices so much more energetic, the work ethic so much better,” he said. “Coming off the loss at the SEC Championship, certainly disappointing, but it was also a little bit of an awakening for our guys of the brutal truths and how can we work on those.

"You grow probably the most in a year after a loss, and things are made a lot more relevant to you when you have those.”

… Smart when he realized Brock Bowers would not be a typical freshman: “This was a guy that would put his phone up and go run up a mountain or a hill out in Napa and sprint up the hill and back down the hill and send video of it. It was like he was wired differently. During COVID, we would challenge recruits to send us video of them working out, and he embraced that. Like he worked out every day. He competed every day. He sent video of going to throwing sessions with friends, and you knew right away this guy had some great one-step quickness. Played tailback in high school, could hand him the ball and he could do special things with it.”

… Jamaree Salyer on developing into an All-SEC caliber tackle: “Just work. Work every day. Obviously, it's tough, with not having the same 6-6 measurables as the next guy. It's a mindset thing. If you allow that to hold you back, then it will. If you allow that to slow you down, then it will. But if you go out there and you work hard every day, and you take the mindset that I can do this, I will do this, and nothing's going to stop me from doing it, it will happen for you, no matter what that is in life. I just take that approach with playing offensive tackle just like I take that same approach playing guard or center or whatever it is. Everything requires work. Everything requires strain and effort and perfecting your craft. I go every day trying to attack that goal and be the best I can be.”

… Travon Walker on Michigan just allowing 10 sacks: “As a whole, they have a good offensive unit, offensive line unit, and I think those guys are very physical up front. They try to play physical, and we just have to attack them, do things that they haven't seen before, and just strain more than they strain."