Stetson Bennett – after six seasons with the program and two years as the starter – is no longer the quarterback at Georgia.
That opened a three-way quarterback competition for the two-time defending national champions. All three quarterbacks have waited their turn. Redshirt junior Carson Beck was the primary backup last season, redshirt sophomore Brock Vandagriff has waited his turn, and redshirt freshman Gunner Stockton also is in the mix.
All three quarterbacks will see action at the "G-Day" spring game at 4 p.m. Saturday at Sanford Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN2. Georgia coach Kirby Smart broke down the wide-open race at the start of spring practice and said: "We think we have three really good quarterbacks."
"I do look forward to seeing Carson and Brock getting a lot of that action," Smart said via ESPN.com. "They'll both rep with the ones. As far as how much, that'll play itself out over the course of the spring. Gunner's come a long way. I'm excited to see what those guys can do."
Who has the edge in Georgia's quarterback battle? Will one of those quarterbacks end up in the transfer portal after the spring game? Those are some questions heading into Saturday.
SPRING QB BATTLES: Ohio State | Texas
Georgia quarterbacks in 2022: Stetson Bennett shines
Bennett led the Bulldogs to a second straight national championship in his second season as the full-time starter. Bennett's pass attempts increased from 287 in 2021 to 455 in 2022, and he finished with 4,128 yards, 27 TDs and seven interceptions.
Bennett finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He closed his career with a remarkable performance in the College Football Playoff championship game against TCU. Bennett passed for 304 yards and four TDs and added two rushing TDs in a 65-7 blowout victory.
Beck saw the most work in mop-up duty last season. Vandagriff was third on the depth chart in 2022.
Georgia QB depth chart for 2023
Georgia has five quarterbacks on the roster, and all five have been redshirted.
Beck, a junior, saw the most-extensive action last season. He completed 26 of 35 passes for four TDs and no interceptions in six games. Vandagriff, a sophomore, had three passing attempts last season. Stockton did not have a passing attempt last season. Here is a breakdown of those three quarterbacks by their recruiting rankings on 247Sports.com.
| QB | CLASS | OVERALL | POS. | RATING |
| Carson Beck | 2020 | 250 | 9 | 0.9095 |
| Brock Vandagriff | 2021 | 17 | 4 | 0.9908 |
| Gunner Stockton | 2022 | 124 | 7 | 0.9506 |
Junior Jackson Muschamp and redshirt sophomore Collin Drake are the other quarterbacks on the roster.
Who is Carson Beck?
Beck (6-4, 215 pounds) won the Florida Mr. Football award in 2018 after leading Mandarin High School (Jacksonville, Fla.) to the Class 8A state championship. Beck was the primary backup for Georgia last season.
He played in seven games and was effective in the opener against Oregon when he completed 5 of 6 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown.
"I don't think people give Carson enough credit for being a good athlete," Smart said via Dawg Nation. "He was a really good baseball player. He has great movement skills. He's not going to run as fast as Stetson."
Beck appears to be the favorite in the quarterback race, but he also is the lowest-ranked recruit among the three quarterbacks. That did not matter with Bennett. Could it be different this time?
MORE: Georgia, Alabama lead SN's too-early Top 25
Who is Brock Vandagriff?
Vandagriff (6-3, 205) was ranked fourth among 2021 quarterbacks on 247Sports.com, behind Quinn Ewers, Caleb Williams and Sam Huard. Vandagriff played at Prince Avenue Christian School (Bogart, Ga.). He originally committed to Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma before flipping to Georgia.
Vandagriff has played sparingly the last two seasons, but the five-star talent is enticing. If he does not win the starting job, then he could be a candidate to hit the transfer portal.
Who is Gunner Stockton?
Stockton (6-1, 220) is the wild card in the race. He's a four-star quarterback from Rabun County High School (Tiger, Ga.).
He did not throw a pass last season and had just three passing attempts in last year's spring game. He's in between Beck and Vandagriff when it comes to recruiting profile, and it's his second season with the program.
Stockton likely will not be the starter, but it is worth monitoring whether he is tempted to hit the transfer portal, which opens April 15 and closes April 30.
Georgia QB: Stat that matters
Georgia ranked third in the FBS with a 52.1% conversion rate on third down. The only schools that were better were Washington (56.1%) and USC (53.6%). The Huskies and Trojans have two of the best returning quarterbacks in 2023 in Michael Penix Jr. and Caleb Williams.
Bennett had a 65.7% completion percentage with eight TDs and one interception on third down last season, which was good for a 157.7 quarterback rating. Which quarterback keeps the chains moving on the money down?
"Third down, that is where you make the separation," Smart said via DawgNation. "We're trying to put those guys in that situation so we can improve them."
Who wins the starting job?
Look at the last two spring games. Beck was so good in 2021 that it was a question whether he could challenge for the starting job. He hit 22 of 31 passes for 236 yards and two TDs. He followed that up last season by hitting 13 of 21 passes for 246 yards. He's shown comfort within the system.
Vandagriff hit 6 of 9 passes for 47 yards in 2021 and 8 of 19 passes for 86 yards in 2022. He took one sack. The arm talent is there, but the perception is Beck has the lead heading into the spring game. That said, this is a high-visibility competition, and new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo replaced Todd Monken, who took the same job with the Baltimore Ravens this offseason.
Beck must take advantage of the past experience to pull away, but this is a battle that could drift into fall camp. The Bulldogs play Tennessee-Martin and Ball State in their first two games. A true starter might not be named until the matchup with South Carolina on Sept. 16.
