The current king of college football, Georgia will take the field on Saturday in one of the most intriguing spring games of the Kirby Smart era. Smart has led the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles, marking the first time that has happened in major college football since Nick Saban led Alabama to consecutive titles in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
The first order of business is finding a quarterback to replace former starter Stetson Bennett IV, who walked on with the Bulldogs and elevated himself into a program legend. However, there are plenty of questions outside of the obvious quarterback conundrum. The Bulldogs have fielded elite defenses over the past couple of years; can Smart once again reload on that side of the ball fo field yet another shut-down unit?
Let’s break down what to expect when the Bulldogs hit the field on Saturday with storylines to follow and information on how and when to watch.
How to watch 2023 Georgia spring game live
Date: Saturday, April 15 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Sanford Stadium — Athens, Georgia
Channel: ESPN2 | Live Stream: SEC Network+
2023 Georgia spring game storylines
1. The QB situation: Let’s start with the obvious. When any team loses a quarterback that won consecutive national titles, the quest to replace him is the most important offseason storyline. Junior Carson Beck, sophomore Brock Vandagriff and freshman Gunner Stockton are the three contenders, and it’s been difficult to gain significant insight so far. Smart has been looking for them to make the smart plays — pun very much intended — but that’s about it.
“There were moments like at this point, conceded the down and live for another down,” Smart said. “If that happens to be third down, that is okay. You can punt. You can kick a field goal. You can go for it on fourth down, but you can’t if you have bone headedness. We need to grasp that better, but they all need to play. They all need to play football. Go out and play football, not have a drill. Not routes on air. Not seven-on-seven. They need to play.”
Beck threw for 310 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in seven games last season, so it’s safe to assume that, at least going in, he has a small edge. That doesn’t mean much now that the Dawgs are 14 practices in. The 15th — Saturday’s G-Day game — will go a long way toward’s determining who takes the first snaps this fall.
2. Pass defense: The secondary is going through a change this offseason after the departure of veteran safety Christopher Smith and potential first-round cornerback Kelee Ringo. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Javon Bullard is back after earning Defensive MVP honors in the Peach Bowl national semifinal win over Ohio State and College Football Playoff National Championship win over TCU. Rising sophomore Malaki Starks burst onto the scene last year with two interceptions in the Dawgs’ first three games, including a highlight-reel pick down the left sideline in the 49-3 win over Oregon.
Who will join them in the secondary? Saturday will give us a glimpse at the rough draft of the depth chart.
3. Who will step up at wide receiver? Tight end Brock Bowers led the Bulldogs in receiving last year, running back Kenny McIntosh was third and tight end Darnell Washington was fourth. Smart made it work, but it’s not exactly an ideal situation in the passing game. Smart made a big deal pointing out that he didn’t accept a transfer player last year, but that changed this offseason when he lured Dominic Lovett away from Missouri and RaRa Thomas from Mississippi State. Translation: He saw a big problem and is trying his best to address it.
“They work really hard,” Beck said. “Our offense is kind of complex in certain ways, but they are catching up fast and they do a lot of extra stuff to try and catch up and start to fit in. They go out there and they are working hard, and they have been making plays all spring.”
Will the two show out and solidify themselves as stars, or will others step up? That’ll be a big question that could begin to be answered on Saturday.
