Kirby Smart may be boxing himself into bad QB decision

If Kirby Smart is telling the truth, and we have no reason to believe he wasn’t, JT Daniels could have started at quarterback Saturday in No. 1 Georgia’s game against Florida.

He didn’t.

Unless Smart spent all week building an elaborate smokescreen to throw off the Bulldogs’ biggest rivals, we have to believe Daniels was finally healthy enough to take the reins of college football’s most complete team after battling a lat muscle injury most of the season. He never got off the sideline. Without more information, we have to assume that Smart finally had the option to use Daniels – one of the preseason Heisman Trophy favorites – after being out for more than a month.

He chose Stetson Bennett IV.

And suddenly, a season of routine, boring dominance has a juicy subplot for Georgia.

Is Smart – for the second time in his tenure – boxing himself into playing an inferior quarterback as he pursues a national title?

Maybe Georgia is destined to win the whole thing this year regardless of Smart’s quarterback choice.

Maybe there’s a legitimate football reason why Georgia’s coaching staff feels more comfortable with Bennett, a former walk- on whose speed and movement can counteract Georgia’s sometimes shaky offensive line play.

But make no mistake: If Georgia’s plan was to build its offense around Daniels with the College Football Playoff in mind, that process would have started Saturday in a 34- 7 win over the Gators. Instead, Smart made a loud statement by doing nothing.

Bennett, for better or worse, is the guy Georgia plans on riding to the finish line.

“We went with the guy that’s been out there the most, and been practicing the most,” Smart told reporters, saying the choice was about continuity more than anything.

It’s hard to argue with that logic based on