Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart made a very curious decision at the end of Tuesday afternoon's spring practice for the Dawgs. Normally, the starting quarterback is the one who gets the chance to meet and talk with media.
Yesterday, Kirby let both guys battling for the starting job speak - RS Sophomore Carson Beck, and RS Freshman Brock Vandagriff. Could this mean the battle for the starting position is closer than originally thought?
Beck has seen more game action than Brock, having thrown for 486 yards and six touchdowns in limited play behind Stetson Bennett the last two season. Brock has only three pass attempts in two seasons.
In today's Tailgate, Rusty Mansell told Steak what he thinks the fact that both QBs got to speak to the media means for the competition. "I think that it means both guys have been worthy to talk about what's going on at Georgia, and I think this is closer than most people think."
While Kirby has not tipped his hand as to which guy is more of the clear leader, Carson is seen as the favorite to win the job. He's got a big arm and he's more mobile than given credit for. And he's got the experience of being the backup for the last two seasons, as he talked about on Tuesday - “A big part of that is reps, experience and getting into games. Last year was really big for me. Stetson had a great year and went out on top, which was awesome, but he did really well in some games. We got up big, I got to get some experience in a few of those games. The biggest thing, I would say, is having the experience and continuing to grow on that with reps and the more practices that we get.”
This doesn't mean that Brock has conceded the job in any way, as he's come out and battled this spring. “My mindset hasn’t ever changed. Everybody is going to say that they have belief and trust in themselves. I base a lot of my life on my faith, and I believe that God has a plan for me regardless of where I’m at or what I’m doing. It’s just never changed, I believe God has a plan for me, and I’m going to be here every day, do my job, and try to control the controllable.”
Rusty also broke down what has made each QB stand out this spring. For Brock, it's been his athleticism. "Somebody that recently saw practice told me they had no idea Brock was that fast." And for Crson, while he might not have the mobility of Brock, Rusty says "he's got the biggest arm of the two."
This coming Saturday (April 8th) is going to go a long way in determining who has the upper hand right now, Brock or Carson according to Rusty. "This scrimmage is the biggest one of the spring. This one will kind of tell you where things are leading into the summer."
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