Georgia won’t announce starting QB, but Arkansas’ Sam Pittman has an idea of the plan
By way of pure coincidence, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman’s first game in his new role is against his old employer, Georgia. Like most years, the Bulldogs are waiting to reveal their starting quarterback until Saturday’s season-opening kickoff.
Quarterback battles are a staple inside Georgia’s football facility through Kirby Smart’s first five years at the helm. Pittman has been in those preseason meetings for four of them.
“I know they played JT (Daniels) and D’Wan (Mathis) in every scrimmage,” Pittman said in his Monday press conference from Fayetteville, Arkansas. “Georgia has some good quarterbacks, and they’re loaded enough to where it won’t matter too much. I don’t have any idea who they’ll play for sure. They’re probably going to play them both.”
Nearly 800 miles back to the east, Smart had been hopeful that Daniels — the transfer from Southern Cal — will be fully cleared by Saturday. Daniels suffered a torn ACL last season in Los Angeles, and had a cleanup procedure in December for extra work on his knee. The additional surgery, Smart said, pushed back Daniels’ timeline.
Smart, speaking Saturday morning on the “SEC Nation” TV show, said Daniels still had not been cleared to play, a likely nod that Mathis will be the Bulldogs’ starter.
Georgia has kept its quarterback choice locked and sealed inside its football offices — Smart on Saturday indicated that the team named a starter more than a week ago behind the scenes.
The same can be said for previous competitions involving Jacob Eason, Jake Fromm and Justin Fields. Now, it’s a waiting game for the race between Daniels and redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis.
Plenty has been said about Mathis. Some believe Mathis, a former four-star recruit out of Michigan, has emerged after running with the first-team in scrimmages. For quite some time, the battle has been trimmed to Mathis and Daniels after Jamie Newman’s opt out in early September.
“I’m excited about the guys who have competed,” Smart said, adding Carson Beck and Stetson Bennett into the mix. “They have all done a good job. I’m excited to see those guys go out and play. … I feel comfortable with all of those guys.”
Pittman has two vantage points when planning for the Bulldogs’ quarterbacks. He only has tape, like many others, on Daniels. After watching tape of the Fresno State game in 2019, Pittman had strong praises for Daniels’ arm strength. For Mathis, however, Pittman got to watch Mathis practice and develop over the past year.
He knows what Mathis can do as Pittman said he “can fly” as a dual-threat option. it becomes a bit of a guessing game when it comes to Daniels.
Once more, Pittman knows all too well that Smart prefers the guessing game. He has a slight idea, but waits alongside everyone else.
“I guarantee none of us will know that starting quarterback for Georgia until he runs out there,” Pittman said. “That’s Kirby’s belief and that’s what it should be if that’s what he believes.”
UGA football vs. Arkansas 2020
Who: Georgia (0-0) at Arkansas (0-0)
Where: Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
TV: SEC Network
This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Georgia won’t announce starting QB, but Arkansas’ Sam Pittman has an idea of the plan."