“Almost nothing at quarterback has gone according to plan.”

Seth gets asked in his latest mailbag to address the quarterback pecking order in spring practice ($$).

This was supposed to be the year where we didn’t have to deal with endless questions about QB1 and now there are reports of Carson Beck taking the majority of first-team reps during (at least a couple of) spring practices. Is there going to be a quarterback controversy and, if so, have I just contributed to it?

Brian P.

Beck as well as Brock Vandagriff have been getting some first-team reps, but people are probably overthinking this: In Stetson Bennett, you have a sixth-year senior who was just named offensive MVP of the national championship game and the Orange Bowl. And before those games, Monken and Smart were pretty clear about Bennett being the starter. The only reason anyone would doubt his being the starter for this season is, well, the same reason people never expected his career to go this far.

There’s certainly an intense competition going on at quarterback … to be the guy in case Bennett goes down. That’s why you give Beck and Vandagriff reps with the first team now, so you see how each performs in those situations. Bennett then gets just enough starter reps this spring to be on track, and in the preseason you get ready for Oregon, which by the way is not the kind of opponent you give someone their first start when you have the national championship-winning quarterback still on the roster.

So, is that all there is to it?  I’d like to think so, and not because I’m in Camp Doubt Stetson.  What I’m a wee bit troubled by, though, is that I don’t remember players lower on the totem pole getting more reps during spring practice when Fromm and Daniels were QB1s.  Given that Stetson’s never been through a spring when he was the clear choice at starter until now, I am not exactly sure why he doesn’t need those reps himself.  That’s why I can’t entirely discount the steady stream of whispers I’ve heard about message sending coming from his coaches.

That being said, I think Seth is absolutely correct that the coaches would prefer Stetson as the starter for the Oregon game, because in a setting like that, there’s no substitute for experience (all other things being equal, of course).  What I hope isn’t going on right now is Bennett assuming that preference will excuse a lackadaisical approach to his job along the way.  Kirby Smart doesn’t strike me as a guy who does “fuck with me and find out” less than seriously.

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