"Long way from good": Kirby Smart gets 100% real on Georgia's spring practice in post Carson Beck era

Head coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs had a good season in 2024, winning the SEC Championship and reaching the quarterfinals of the college football playoff.

However, the team is in a different spot heading into the 2025 season. Although the Bulldogs are still expected to be a top team in the SEC next season, they have a much younger roster.

One of the most notable departures from the team was QB Carson Beck. Beck left the team in the transfer portal and signed with the Miami Hurricanes.

With spring training underway, the Bulldogs are feeling the absence of veteran leadership and talent. Kirby Smart spoke about this when asked about how his team did at spring practice on Tuesday (starts at 0:05):

"Long way from good. We are a work in progress. We have the least number of players who have gone through three spring practices since I've been here. So, that should tell you something.

"I asked the guys to stand up who have practiced at least three spring practices, so this would make their fourth and there was basically nobody standing."

Smart continued:

"We have a very young, inexperienced group. We really can't practice to our standard because they're all tired. So we go to practice, great energy, great in shorts, guys learn what to do, then guys start going, and they can't go.

"They're tired. So we got to do a better job of getting them in shape and simplify things to get guys to go play."

Kirby Smart is expected to replace Carson Beck with Gunner Stockton as the starting QB in 2025

Carson Beck left Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs in the transfer portal after this past season. If he was still on the roster, he would bring the veteran presence that Kirby Smart is looking for as the Bulldogs go through spring practices.

Instead, the team will need to deal with having a much more inexperienced roster. At the QB position, Gunner Stockton is expected to take over the starting role. In 2024, he appeared in four games, completing 45 of 64 passes for 440 yards and one TD.

It will be a big change for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs who have had Carson Beck as their starting QB for the past two seasons. Beck was part of the roster for the past four seasons and was intimately familiar with the playbook and how Georgia ran its offense.