Kirby Smart details most important traits of Georgia’s next quarterback

Kirby Smart has a list of qualities he’s looking for in Stetson Bennett’s replacement, but in the end it all boils down to decision-making for the next Georgia quarterback.

Speaking with the media as Georgia begins scrimmaging, Smart elaborated on his point, saying that he’s not looking for a quarterback who will play hero-ball on every possession, but one that possesses the innate ability to make the right choice.

“Demeanor, communication,” responded Smart. “It’s like, a true quarterback is a decision-maker. In our system, because some of the systems take all the pressure off the quarterback and they just go really fast, we don’t do that. We’re a quarterback driven offense. So can you process the information, that means get the signal. Get people lined up. Then see what the defense is in, and figure out are we in the right situation, which of these three choices Coach [Mike] Bobo is giving me am I going to utilize on this play? Then the play happens. There might be a mistake or a breakdown. Do not go Full Metal Jacket and catastrophe mode and put us in a bad situation.

“So decision making is the one thing I want to see from the quarterback position. Can you make consecutive decisions over and over that don’t cost our team games? Because we have enough play-makers, and we have enough plays that you will make a play inevitably. Don’t make a bone-head play. That’s what we’re trying to avoid.”

It’s no question that the two leading candidates to be Georgia’s next signal caller — Carson Beck and Brock Vandagriff — know this, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t take into account their coach’s emphasis on it.

The Bulldogs quarterback position has turned into one that can catapult you into stardom, you just have to do your job and not turn the football over. Occasionally, you’ll be called upon to make the right play or a difficult throw, but as long as your decision-making is on point, the team will likely be in the driver’s seat any given Saturday.

It helped Bennett get to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony, and it could do the same for the careers of either Beck or Vandagriff. Which one gets the nod remains to be seen, but it could go either way at the moment.

Regardless, Kirby Smart is giving Georgia faithful a peak behind the curtain of what’s likely to be a seismic change, but the Bulldogs will come out the other side as they always have under Smart, smelling like roses.