UGA QBs: "Right Now It's An Open Competition"
ATHENS - There’s an open competition going on in Georgia’s offense right now. Not for George Pickens’ spot. His job seems pretty safe.
But for everyone else, including the quarterbacks, it’s an open competition. At least that’s what Todd Monken says.
The Bulldogs are just five days into camp, and Georgia’s new offenseive coordinator reminded reporters on Wednesday that he’s only been able to really look at his offense for about a week now. If Georgia had spring practice we’d have more answers right now. But with a month left until the season starts, jobs are up for grabs, and that has to excite Monken heading into his first season.
So let’s start with the quarterbacks. After a week of practice, Monken said he likes where things stand in the crowded, talented room.
“It’s been fun to be in the QB room”, Monken told reporters. “They all want to be really good players. Right now it’s an open competition.”
Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman is expected to be the starter, and it’s clear both he and USC transfer J.T Daniels have surprised Monken early on with their different skillsets.
“Jamie (Newman) is a batter thrower than people think,” Monken added. “I think JT Daniels is a better athlete than people think.”
Monken also spoke highly of the young quarterbacks D’Wan Mathis and Carson Beck, but continued to add that he’s still evaluating them and hasn’t been able to watch them throw in person very long. What’s clear is that whoever wins the job has to excel at three things.
Accuracy. Mental Toughness. Athleticism.
Monken said those are the things that come to mind the most when evaluating quarterbacks. As far as his offense goes, Monken said he’s constantly learning as a playcaller. He’s learned different styles of offense during his coaching career, but right now he’s keeping it all simple.
“We want to score points and not turnover the ball over,” Monken said. “We want to make explosive plays, and score touchdowns when we get into the red-zone.”
It may seem obvious, but that’s something Georgia’s offense struggled with last year. There’s plenty of buzz around the freshman receivers right now. But in order for Georgia’s offense to be at it’s best they’ll need the development from some of the veteran players including Matt Landers, Demetris Robertson, Tommy Bush and Kearis Jackson.
Monken briefly mentioned some of the incoming freshman as well, but the word of the day was “development”. Without taking shots at last year’s offense Monken repeatedly said it’s up to him to develop and get the maximum amount of potential from his players.
The talent is there, and it will always be there under Kirby Smart. Georgia won’t lose games because of the lack of talent. The first step in building an elite program is to recruit elite talent, which the Bulldogs do each year. The next step is to develop. If Monken can check that box somehow over the next few weeks Georgia’s offense will be explosive. If that happens the Bulldogs could have a really special season.
