Kirby Smart addresses Georgia quarterback situation, JT Daniels

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart addressed the Bulldogs quarterback situation as JT Daniels has not played since Georgia’s blowout win over Vanderbilt in week four.

“We are trying to get JT back,” Smart said. “He is much improved this last week at the end of the week. He had a really productive throwing session, I guess it was Thursday, maybe. Then before the game he was able throw more than he was the previous week. We’re going to try to let him throw some today although today will be a lighter practice.”

JT Daniels has been plagued with injuries all season, recovering from an oblique strain and a lat issue prior to Georgia’s game against Arkansas.

In relief of Daniels, Stetson Bennett IV has filled in as the starter for three consecutive games, but has made five total appearances. In five games, Bennettt has thrown for 746 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

On Saturday against Auburn, Bennett threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns, along with 41 yards rushing. Smart said ahead of the game that JT Daniels was available to play if he needed to and that he has been able to throw more with no pain in the days leading up to the game.

Bennett, a senior from Blackshear, Georgia, has appeared in 17 games in his career, starting eight.

After Alabama’s loss to Texas A&M, for the first time in the regular season since 1982, the Georgia Bulldogs are ranked as the No. 1 team in college football.

On Monday, Paul Fineabum stated the Bulldogs can play it safe with Daniels until he’s fully healthy given their performance to this point.

“Somebody joked to me last night,” Finebaum said on The ESPN College Football Podcast. “Do you think Kirby is just saving JT Daniels for the SEC Championship game? At this point, he’ll need [Daniels] perhaps against Florida. Florida is a team you could get in a track meet with, but he won’t need him too many other times. They have Kentucky this weekend, and I was up there [last week], and that’s a really good team. … I know it’s hard to think about anything other than Alabama, but that’s just the way college football has been for a long time.”

Georgia has just two games against ranked opponents on its schedule and both are in the next two weeks: at home against No. 11 Kentucky, and at home against No. 20 Florida. Given how dominant the Bulldogs defense has looked, and Bennett’s performance in relief of Daniels, Smart might not unleash JT Daniels until the former five-star is fully healthy.