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ATHENS – The competition is back for quarterback duties in Georgia with the return of Stetson Bennett from a sprained AC shoulder suffered against the Florida in question and the offense seeking improvement.
Coach Kirby Smart would not pledge that Bennett would be the Missouri starter if he was allowed to play, saying it was a “great question, which will only be answered by the end of the week.”
The 12th-seeded Bulldogs (4-2) will play Missouri (2-3) at noon Saturday to get back on track and climb back into the Top 10.
Smart said quarterbacks JT Daniels, D’Wan Mathis and Carson Beck will have work early in the week with Bennett’s throwing status limited. Daniels suffered an ACL tear in USC’s 2019 season opener and hasn’t seen any game action since.
Bennett took a hit to the shoulder in the second quarter of the 44-28 loss to Florida. The former walk-on missed a streak in the first half while still getting a shot to keep playing before Smart shot it in the third quarter with Georgia down 41-21.
The injury opened the door for Smart to reassess his position ahead of the final four games of the regular season.
“We’re going to prepare these three guys, and whoever does the best job will be ready to play,” said Smart, referring to the UGA substitute three-quarters. “Much will be determined by the practice of Tuesday and Wednesday for us.
Daniels, an accomplished transfer from USC, will get his best look since preseason, Smart said.
Smart focused on the lack of precision when analyzing the difficulties in the passing game. Bennett has recorded six interceptions in the last three games, 32 of 69 assists (46%).
Georgia fell to 13th in the SEC in passing efficiency and 11th in the league in passing attack.
“I think the first thing I would say is the accuracy… in terms of percent complete, hitting open receivers,” Smart said. “We always say you have to do your layups. That’s the most disappointing thing about the last couple of games is the accuracy and the ability to hit open guys … so how can you improve that?
“You have to improve your accuracy. First, when a guy has a chance to catch the ball, catch it. But when we have opened them, we cannot knock them over. We missed some opportunities there.
Smart spoke at length about Daniels, Bennett and Mathis.
The Bulldogs added Daniels in May, the first clear indicator that things weren’t working ideally with the transfer of Wake Forest graduate Jamie Newman.
Newman retired after the first fall scrum after sharing first-team reps with Daniels at the start of fall camp.
Clever: “JT is like Stetson when he was over there (on the scout team) before. Sometimes you can do things without risk or reward because your job there is to put the ball in the air, throw the ball, serve the team, give them a good look. He’s not there all the time. We also have (Nathan) Priestly and Jackson Muschamp doing a great job. JT likes to go out there and compete and be able to throw some. He’s spending time with our attack, he’s in all the meetings with our attack, and he goes out there and throws every now and then.
“JT has a good arm, there’s no doubt about it. This is one of those deals where he gets better and better every day with mobility, and we think he’s good, he’s able to move around and do things with us, and again, he’ll find representatives with Stetson and find out where he is.
“The great thing about JT is that he begged to go to the scout squad to find work when it wasn’t early – he wanted to come down and compete and pitch and improve against our defense. So it’s not like he’s sitting on the shelf without being thrown. He received a lot.
Smart said much of Bennett’s work week will be determined by how his shoulder gets tested. Obviously, Smart said, the AC joint sprain is also having an effect.
Clever: “It makes it difficult (Bennett) to improve because I don’t know how much work he’s getting. If he can go, he will have representatives. If he is not able to throw, his repetitions will be reduced. Precision comes with experience, precision comes with timing, precision comes with consistency and that’s out there. So if it’s a receiver it can run 21 mph, and if it’s another receiver it could run 22.
“But you have to hit your layups, you have to be precise, that’s probably the unifying number one (attribute) at the quarterback position. Accuracy is number one with management, not rotation, but accuracy is probably the driving factor in this position and we weren’t precise in terms of percent complete, well not consistently, we went there with fits and starts. But we weren’t Saturday.
Speaking of Mathis, the red-shirted freshman from Metro Detroit who is less than two years out of emergency brain surgery, Smart clearly enjoys his fight.
Clever: “The first thing (with Mathis) is precision, he needs to improve it. The second thing is attack management, in terms of play, communication, movement, changes, instant counting, a lot of things of that nature that he improved on. He had the opportunity to work with the two for three or four weeks and grew and improved.
“He had the opportunity the other night of the game to see where he is. I think he understands he needs to improve and work, and he’s ready to do it. He is committed to trying to improve to help the team. He’s an extremely compassionate competitor, you see that when he runs, right? He’s trying to convince the guys whether he can or not.
“That part is a great redeeming quality about him, but he has to grow in other areas and he has to improve, and he wants to do it. He wants to become a complete player.
Georgia-Missouri Week
Analysis: where is QB, what is needed and probably the next one
Georgia Football Stock Report: Offensive Dips, Defensive Rallies
Georgia: winners and losers of the game in Florida
Favorite Missouri Bulldogs vs. Upset Tigers
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