To close out hour two of the Nick Kayal show Nick reacted to his interview with Mike Griffith of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Dawgnation. During the interview Nick asked Mike if he thinks whether or not the Georgia Bulldogs are heading into a “golden era” of quarterbacks. Mike responded by saying “Not necessarily, I mean Jake Fromm showed you that” Mike continues by saying “People always say Jake Fromm regressed, but he lost five receivers to the NFL.” Mike finished his thought by saying “Kirby is going to have to realize that it is a beauty contest, and he’s going to have to score points.” Whether you think the era is golden or not I think it is safe to say it seems like there will be no shortage of quarterback talent in Athens for the next four to six years. Nick believes Georgia is set up for “at least a five to seven year run of really good quarterback play.”
With newly committed five star quarterback Gunner Stockton now headed to Athens, Nick breaks it down pretty well during the segment saying “You’re gonna have JT Daniels this year, then he’s gonna go on to the NFL draft. You would have Brock Vandagriff for two years maybe three, then you’re going to have Gunner Stockton for two years maybe three...” We already know what JT Daniels is, and if Brock and Gunner live up to their expectations then Georgia should have all the talent needed at the most important position on the football field. With all that being said Nick isn’t giving Kirby Smart any excuses now saying “If we fast forward to 2025 and the trophy case is empty then there’s a serious problem.”
Nick realizes this is mostly speculation at this point saying “A lot of this is based on potential.” However, Nick also believes this is Kirby’s window to get his offense right. Nick says, “It would be very hard for me to see, you know short of a bunch of injuries, Georgia not being one of the ten best offenses.” Nick also says “It’s setting up now where I feel like if Kirby Smart can’t get the quarterback position, and the offense, and the modernization of a passing game right in this window of opportunity, I don’t know that he ever will.” Also, Nick made a great point later in the segment basically saying that LSU and Alabama, the last two national title winners, were defense and run oriented teams that completely changed their offense to being a high powered passing offense. Yes, LSU did have Joe Burrow who ended being the number one overall pick, but it’s pretty safe to say the same won’t be able to be said about Mac Jones. Kirby Smart undoubtedly would like to win games by playing great defense and running the ball with effectiveness, along with a quarterback who doesn’t necessarily have to win you the game they just have to not lose it. Well now it seems like that era is coming to an end in college football, and maybe even in the game of football overall. With that being said if Georgia is in fact going into the “Golden Era” of quarterback play then the switch of offensive philosophy shouldn’t be as hard for Kirby Smart, and if it is hard another era may be coming to an end sooner than we all thought.