ATHENS — “Absolutely not.”
That was Kirby Smart’s answer when asked Monday if the Georgia Bulldogs had or might eventually consider playing anyone other than Carson Beck at quarterback. The Bulldogs are preparing to host No. 7 Tennessee in what’s described as a playoff-elimination game at Sanford Stadium.
Beck — and the offense that surrounds him — is a big reason why the No. 3-ranked Bulldogs are in a predicament. In addition to throwing 12 interceptions and just 10 touchdowns in the last six games, Georgia’s offense has struggled to run the ball and to pass-protect over that same span.
Yet the prospect of inserting a more mobile quarterback either as an occasional change of pace or as a more permanent deviation from the presently failing offensive philosophy is not something the Bulldogs have considered or will consider.
“Absolutely not,” Smart said. “We’ve got the quarterback we’ve got, who is completely competent and capable and understanding of our system and gives us the best chance to win.”
Georgia has four scholarship quarterbacks waiting in the wings. Only redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton has played this season, and then just in mop-up duty in the Bulldogs’ first two games.
Considered a dual-threat quarterback when he signed with UGA out of Rabun County as a 4-star prospect, Stockton has 238 career passing yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Redshirt freshman Jaden Rashada was also labeled a dual-threat quarterback when he came out of Pittsburg, Calif., as a 4-star prospect and signed with Florida. But he played just three games after transferring to Arizona State last year and had 485 yards, 4 TDs and 3 interceptions on 53.7% passing and 23 yards on 14 rushing attempts.
It was Rashada who was pictured grinning alongside a smiling Beck in the last few minutes of last Saturday’s game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Beck told the Athens Banner-Herald’s Marc Weiszer that cameras simply caught them in a moment when Rashada was encouraging him and telling him the Bulldogs still had time to execute a comeback.
Georgia’s other option would be Ryan Puglisi. However, the 6-3, 210-pound true freshman from Massachusetts was injured during the preseason and is expected to redshirt this year.
With practices closed and none of them on the field for anything other than pregame warmups in the last 10 weeks, Smart was asked about the progress of the backup quarterbacks last week.
“They get work each and every week. We throw them in there and mix them in,” Smart said. “They get reps, Ryan Puglisi gets reps. They come down sometimes and throw with us on the scouts to get even more work. I think every rep you can possibly get right now, you’re just like, how many times can I get a quarterback to go back there and have to make a decision and grow as a player?”
It’s certainly hard to argue with Beck’s track record. The Bulldogs lost this past Saturday at Ole Miss for only the third time in 23 games with the 6-foot-4, 220-pound, fifth-year senior operating as their starting quarterback. But never before during that stretch has Georgia encountered the offensive shortcomings that it has this season, and especially the last 45 days.
Before traveling to Alabama on Sept. 28, Beck hadn’t thrown an interception all season and recorded only 5 in previous 26 games. But all that went out the window in Tuscaloosa when Beck was picked off three times and fumbled away the ball on another play in a 41-34 loss to the Crimson Tide.
The thinking at time was it was just a bad night in an incredibly intense atmosphere, especially after Beck rallied the Bulldogs to take the lead in the final 2½ minutes after once trailing 28-0. He had two touchdown passes and no picks the next week in a win over Auburn.
Instead, his season has gotten worse. In addition to Beck’s interceptions, Georgia has been putting the ball on the ground. The Bulldogs fumbled four times in Saturday’s 28-10 loss to Ole Miss in Oxford. Beck was responsible for two of those on strip-sacks, one of which the Rebels recovered.
Beck has been sacked 14 times on the season. He has netted 39 yards on 38 carries with 107 in lost yardage.
As Smart said in his postgame interview on radio Saturday night, the best counter to being overmatched by a pass rush is to the run the ball. But Georgia couldn’t do that against Ole Miss and hasn’t been able to do it proficiently all season.
The Bulldogs’ total of 59 yards rushing against the Rebels was the lowest since 2021.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s dealing with other issues, such as dropped passes. According to ABC on Saturday night, the Bulldogs’ 29 drops are the most in FBS this year.
“Well, we’ve played really good defenses,” Smart said. “You guys look at a stat sheet and say, ‘where do they rank?’ And I’ll say, ‘well, against who?’ Because relative to who we’ve played, we’ve played some really good teams. But I would be remiss if I would say that we’re happy with where we are. We’re not happy with where we are.”
There certainly would be no reason for that. Georgia is averaging 10 fewer points (30.6) and 86 fewer yards (410.6) than a year ago.
There are factors beyond quarterback play. Injuries have ravaged Georgia’s offensive line. Smart revealed Monday that left tackle Earnest Greene, a junior who was considered a shoo-in for the NFL draft, has been dealing with a shoulder injury. Listed at 6-4, 320 pounds, Greene also seems to be playing at a heavier weight this season.
Meanwhile, center Jared Wilson missed two games with a leg injury and right guard has been a turnstile for the Bulldogs. Preseason All-America candidate Tate Ratledge had TightRope surgery in Week 4 and, since returning, has been extremely limited in Georgia’s last two games. His backup Micah Morris was sidelined just when Ratledge returned and did not play against the Rebels. That left center Drew Bobo to fill in along with right tackle Xavier Truss, who regularly moves inside.
Injuries also have been an issue in the backfield. Georgia began the season without projected starter Roderick Robinson (toe), lost sophomore Branson Robinson (knee) in Week 6 and currently has Trevor Etienne dealing with a lingering rib injury. That has left true freshman Nate Frazier and former walk-on Cash Jones to carry the load.
Meanwhile, disciplinary suspensions robbed Beck of his top two split ends, while the rest of the receiving corps has underperformed.
Those are all problems. At the moment, what Georgia needs is solutions. In Tennessee on Saturday, the Bulldogs are expected to face a defense that is similar in makeup to the one that just dominated them in Oxford: big and strong up front with a penchant for stuffing the run and getting after the quarterback.
Just this past Saturday, Georgia Tech found success deploying more than one quarterback. Haynes King, who has been out for several weeks for a shoulder injury, took on Miami as the Yellow Jackets’ running quarterback, while backup Aaron Philo came in to play in obvious passing situations.
It worked to perfection as Philo passed for 67 yards and a TD, King ran the ball 23 times for 93 yards and a score and also completed all six of his passes for 32 yards and another touchdown.
It has been a while, but Georgia has alternated quarterbacks in specialized situations before. Smart did it sparingly with Jake Fromm and Justin Fields in 2018. And Mike Bobo, the Bulldogs’ current offensive coordinator, did it quite prominently with David Greene and D.J. Shockley from 2002-04.
But Smart has made it clear before he’s more of a one-QB coach. And the Bulldogs insist they have as much faith as they ever had in Beck.
“I mean, he’s positive,” junior guard Dylan Fairchild said. “Everything is not going to go your way or the way you want it to. You can’t mope around. I don’t know what people want (Beck) to do, but you’ve got to stay positive. You’ve got to keep coming.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Georgia vs. Tennessee, 7:30 p.m., ABC, 750 AM, 95.5 FM
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