Georgia searches for Stetson Bennett's replacement, preps for title defense

ATHENS, Ga. — One week ago and 100 miles to the east, the heavens doused Augusta, Georgia, with enough cold, hard rain to postpone the Masters. On Saturday, blue skies and gentle warm breezes enveloped Athens for the University of Georgia’s spring football game. The Dawgs, in other words, stay winning.

The calendar says April, but the feel in Athens was September. As the Bulldogs prepared for the culmination of their spring practice, camp chairs and coolers dotted campus walks and fraternity house front yards all over town. (Hey, tailgaters need spring reps too.) As fans filed into Sanford Stadium, the sense of entitlement and expectation was in the air. The crowning of a new Uga only added to the offseason delirium. (Red beat Black 31-26, and either team would probably finish no worse than third in the SEC East.)

Georgia is the two-time defending national champion, but the Bulldogs will head into the 2023 season with uncertainty at their core. Stetson Bennett IV, the walk-on-turned-Heisman runner-up who guided Georgia to those two titles, is at long last out of eligibility. Head coach Kirby Smart must now replace the most improbable hero in Bulldogs history, a guy who drew roars of gratitude when he received his national championship ring alongside his teammates on Saturday afternoon.

The leading Bennett-replacement contenders: Carson Beck, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior from Jacksonville; Brock Vandagriff, a 6-3, 205-pound redshirt sophomore from Bogart, Georgia; and Gunner Stockton, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound redshirt freshman from Tiger, Georgia. All three meet the table-stakes requirement for a Georgia quarterback — last names as first names — but beyond that, all three bring different skills to the field.

Beck, the heir apparent, is a more traditional pocket passer, while Vandagriff is more of a speedy dual threat in the Bennett mold. Stockton, the youngest of the three, seemed likely coming into the game to stay in a reserve role, but a strong performance might upset a few Georgia succession plans. All the time each has spent under center this spring, Smart said after the game, is paying off.

“I can promise you there’s no quarterbacks in the country getting as many reps as ours, because we’ve got enough defensive linemen and offensive linemen to have three units, sometimes four units,” Smart said. “The only way to get better is to go out there and practice and get reps. Some universities can’t give kids the reps we can because they don’t have the depth.”

The early, unsurprising takeaway from Saturday: Georgia is diving well-deep at every position, including quarterback. Beck, who started the game and played with much of the first-team offense, displayed pocket presence and a precise downfield touch, though 2022 receiving legends like Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey can make any quarterback look good.

Vandagriff, meanwhile, began by showing off his wheels, rushing for a 23-yard gain early in his first series, then settled down and displayed downfield accuracy of his own.

Stockton, erratic early, cut loose toward the end of the half and hurled a few darts before calling his own number for a running touchdown. He also authored the play of the first half, a 54-yard completion to Mekhi Mews that brought the Sanford Stadium crowd to delirious life.

“Really pleased with all three quarterbacks,” Smart said. “What you saw today is what we’ve seen all spring. We’ve got three really good quarterbacks who can make the throws.”

The final totals:

• Beck: 15 completions on 22 attempts, 222 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions

• Vandagriff: 13-25, 195 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT

• Stockton: 13-22, 144 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT

Playing against teammates isn’t exactly like playing against true competition, but all three Georgia quarterbacks had to line up against some variant of the Georgia defense, which is a challenge even at three-quarters speed. The game is geared toward quarterbacks, and specifically toward the passing game, with the defense hamstrung by the need to keep everyone on the opposing side of the ball healthy.

Spring football is less like a game and more like a birthday party where fans get to watch presents unwrapped in real time. There were the expected stars, like Bowers and McConkey pulling down big-yardage, highlight-reel plays, but then there were the unexpected surprises, like Mews breaking off what – in a normal game – would have been a take-it-to-the-house 99-yard return.

In truth, spring games are not unlike a pee-wee football game, with coaches on the field all over the place offering instant analysis and instruction. Also like a pee-wee game, the primary goal is to ensure nobody gets carried off the field; Georgia quarterbacks wore white and were deemed untouchable. The game ended without significant injury, which is a small victory itself.

The quarterback position isn’t the only significant change from the championship seasons. After offensive coordinator Todd Monken left Athens for the NFL, longtime Georgia fixture Mike Bobo has taken over OC duties. How the quarterbacks mesh with Bobo’s schemes and expectations will be a topic of conversation around tailgates from now through January.

Fortunately for Georgia’s quarterback needs, the Bulldogs have a stunningly easy schedule, particularly early on. After the SEC removed a 2023-24 home-and-home with Oklahoma from Georgia’s schedule, thanks to the Sooners joining the SEC next year, the Bulldogs now face the powerhouse trio of Tennessee-Martin, Ball State and Alabama-Birmingham over their first four games. (The fourth game is against South Carolina, which might actually pose the tiniest of threats.) That will give Smart time, even in-season if necessary, to suss out which quarterback will lead Georgia back in the direction of a three-peat.

Smart, like all coaches with an abundance of talent at any one position, must execute a delicate balancing act. He has to find the right fit for the position while not upsetting either of the runners-up to the point that they decide to jump in the transfer portal for a guaranteed starting slot elsewhere.

Smart’s challenges don’t end with the quarterback resolution. Just hours before the spring game kickoff, news broke that defensive lineman Bear Alexander plans to enter the transfer portal. Alexander, who had a sack and another tackle for a loss in the national championship game against TCU, has three years of eligibility remaining and was expected to be a key contributor on the line for the Bulldogs this season. Alexander follows receiver Adonai Mitchell, who caught the game-winning touchdown against Ohio State in the Peach Bowl and shortly thereafter decamped for Texas.

“That’s the way of the world, who handles and manages it best is basically the new climate we’re in,” Smart said. “All across the country, there’ll be guys going and looking for greener pastures. That’s ultimately the climate we’ve created. More power to them.”

Georgia will return to Sanford Stadium in September for its season opener. By then, there might be more clarity on the quarterback position ... or there might not. Either way, the Bulldogs will almost surely enter the 2023 season among the favorites once again.