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This was the weekend that Georgia would have been in final preparations for a season opening game against Virginia in Atlanta on Labor Day, but the pandemic changed that.
The delayed start to the season turns out to be needed for the Bulldogs to settle on their quarterback situation.
Georgia scrimmaged Saturday four days after its leading contender for the job, Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman, changed everything by informing coach Kirby Smart on a day off from practices that he was opting out of the season, something that became public the next day.
That has offered an opportunity for redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis to push Southern Cal transfer JT Daniels for the No. 1 job, but Mathis started slow in the second preseason scrimmage at Sanford Stadium by throwing a pair of interceptions.
Daniels didn’t zoom way ahead of Mathis either on a day when both worked with the No. 1 unit, according to Smart.
“It almost feels like you really want the guys to assume the lead, take the lead and that hasn’t happened yet,” Smart said. “You’re liable to have a great play or a great series and come back with a boneheaded mistake or a turnover. Nobody has really just taken charge and taken over. I wish I could say that.”
Newman pulled the plug on his time as a Bulldog 235 days after announcing he was headed to Georgia. Smart didn’t elaborate much on the decision.
“We’re moving forward,” Smart said. “We respect Jamie, I respect Jamie. He’s done a tremendous job. I respect any kid that chooses to opt out.”
The UGA campus shut down in March and Newman and Georgia players didn’t return for more than 90 days to begin workouts. By then, Daniels had announced he was transferring to Georgia.
Daniels, the former-five-star prospect, is coming of a torn ACL sustained in the season opener last year, but Smart said he expects the 2018 Trojans starter, who received an NCAA waiver to play, to be medically given the OK to play in the Sept. 26 opener at Arkansas.
“We expect him to be cleared by the first game,” Smart said. “But that’s not a complete certainty.”
Ron Courson, Georgia’s director of sports medicine, feels confident that Daniels has made enough strides with leg strength to be in position to play, Smart said.
″:But that’s going to boil down to Ron and our doctors making that call,” Smart said.
Mathis, a dual threat quarterback, is coming off his own health issues after undergoing surgery for a brain cyst in May of 2019 and then redshirting last season.
“We had to go to like six NFL doctors to look at the scans and see the healing in his skill to be able to clear him,” Smart said. “During that time of last season, he was getting all the reps with the scout team, which is really helpful because you get to feel the rush. You’ve got one of the best defenses in the country coming at you with a makeshift offensive line a lot of times on scout team.”
Feeling that pressure was valuable, but Todd Monken is now the offensive coordinator who is expected to open up the offense.
“It’s not like he was in the same system he was in last year,” Smart said.
The scrimmage was closed to the media and no statistics were provided.
There was not believed to be any serious injuries in the scrimmage of up to 140 snaps.
Florida State tight end transfer Tre McKitty left midway through the scrimmage with either an ankle or knee injury, Smart said, but he thought he would be fine.
“We’ve been pretty fortunate from an injury standpoint, knock on wood,” Smart said.
Smart said the starting defense “dominated” the No. 2 offense, “stoned them, got a couple three-and-outs and didn’t give up a first down.”
“I thought we had a couple really nice plays to get interceptions,” said Smart, who added the defense didn’t play well in the red zone work and jumped offsides at least three times..
Daniels and Mathis got second-team reps as did true freshman Carson Beck who helped move the offense down field. Redshirt junior Stetson Bennett worked with the No. 3 offense. Smart said he thought the team as a whole would be further along.
“You want them to move the offense and score points,” Smart said. “I know that’s easier said than done, but you know, it’s a Catch 22 here. If you’re going to call plays designed for a certain quarterback and you’ve got certain styles, maybe JT, Carson, or D’Wan are all different quarterbacks. Right now we’re trying to figure out what they can do ...We’re in a growth stage in regards to that and the good news is that we’ve got a lot of work to do, mentally, in preparation to get ready for the first game, but also to get our offense in synch and in rhythm so we can be able to hit things in rhythm.”
