Kirby Smart says Oregon's QB mystery 'doesn't impact anything' for Georgia
Dan Lanning is not tipping his hand when it comes to the quarterback spot, and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart doesn’t care one bit.
The Oregon head coach has kept a tight lip throughout fall camp about position battles throughout his team, including at quarterback. Lanning has said he doesn’t think it gives Oregon an advantage to reveal starters. But, as Smart said Monday, that doesn’t mean the lack of info disadvantages his Bulldogs.
“That really doesn’t impact anything for us,” Smart said when asked about Oregon’s mystery at quarterback, per The Athletic. “I know who the quarterback is going to be. So, I’m not worried about that.”
Kirby Smart when asked about Dan Lanning not announcing Oregon's starting QB:
“That doesn’t really impact anything for us. I know who the quarterback’s going to be. So I’m not worried about that.”
— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) August 29, 2022
Smart went on to say it’s “never about the preparation for one specific quarterback as much as the preparation of your team to go play well.”
Nix is viewed as the likely winner of the Ducks’ quarterback competition after starting for three years at Auburn.
In three seasons with the Tigers, Nix threw for 7,251 yards and 39 touchdowns against 16 interceptions. He completed 59.4% of his passes while adding 869 rushing yards and another 18 scores on the ground. In transferring to Oregon this offseason, he was reunited with current UO offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, his OC at Auburn in 2019 when he won the SEC’s Freshman of the Year award.
Ty Thompson is viewed as Nix’s primary competition for the job. A blue-chip prospect, when he signed with the Ducks in 2021, he became the highest-rated quarterback to do so during the 247Sports era. Last year, he was the primary backup to Anthony Brown and, as such, only attempted 15 passes in three appearances.
“When you guys see that first snap, we’ll see who’s out there on the field,” Lanning said last week.
The 11th-ranked Oregon Ducks face the third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs at 12:30 p.m. PT on ABC Saturday. You can see Smart’s full press conference below: