Is Alabama football's quarterback competition for real? And what's Georgia's weakness?
Georgia's Carson Beck and Alabama's Jalen Milroe rank among preseason frontrunners for the 2024 Heisman Trophy.
But, forget awards for a moment. Does one of these quarterbacks have to battle to retain his starting job?
At Georgia, that's not the case. Beck remains Georgia's QB1. End of discussion. He threw two interceptions in Georgia's spring game on Saturday, but he had "a great spring," according to coach Kirby Smart.
What about Milroe? He played well Saturday on A-Day. Backup Ty Simpson fared fine, too. A new coaching staff adds a dose of uncertainty to the competition, but, to hear Milroe tell it, he's hitting it off with DeBoer, and he looked to have a handle on the offense. Likely, he'll remain Alabama's starter.
On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, host Blake Toppmeyer is joined by Chase Goodbread of the Tuscaloosa News and the Athens-Banner Herald's Marc Weiszer to recap the spring games for Alabama and Georgia, discuss quarterbacks and set expectations for 2024.
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What's a fair bar for DeBoer's first season?
What's Georgia's lingering question exiting spring practice?
TOPPMEYER: Nick Saban becomes hype man before Jalen Milroe and Kalen DeBoer steal show
GOODBREAD: Alabama football's Jalen Milroe goes from hero captain to competition on A-Day
WEISZER: Strong spring, so-so G-Day for Georgia football starting quarterback Carson Beck
They discuss those topics and more. Here's a snippet of the conversation:
Year 1 expectations for Alabama football's Kalen DeBoer
Toppmeyer: Nick Saban went 7-6 in his first Alabama season. Much changed since then. Also, Saban inherited a team that went 6-7 the year before his arrival. DeBoer's situation is different. He inherited some talented pieces, like Milroe. But, some areas of the roster require attention, particularly on defense. Also, Alabama's schedule ranks among the SEC's toughest. So, what's the reasonable bar of expectations for DeBoer's Alabama debut?
Goodbread: Earning a bid to the 12-team College Football Playoff is a fair expectation. Is it a catastrophic failure if he ends up being the 13th-best team in the country in Year 1 and misses the playoff? No. But, maintaining Alabama as a playoff qualifier is a strong, reasonable goal.
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Do we believe Alabama football has a quarterback competition, or is this Jalen Milroe's job?
Toppmeyer: I don't buy the narrative of Alabama having a quarterback competition. Milroe still looks like the guy. He does things the the other guys can't. His big-play ability remains enticing. Sure, something unexpected could occur between now and the opener, but I see Milroe as QB1 and Simpson as QB2. Talk of the contrary just seems like offseason fodder. Am I off base?
Goodbread: Two ways to look at this: From the eyeball test, it's Milroe's job. He led the team to the SEC Championship last season. He probably remains Alabama's best athlete. The wrinkle in all of this, though, is the coaching change. DeBoer revamped Alabama's offense. If you're DeBoer, you must base your depth chart based on what you see this offseason and not by what you saw on tape from a year ago. I do expect Milroe to remain the starter.
Toppmeyer: Let's say you're a Vegas handicapper. Odds that someone other than Milroe is Alabama's starting quarterback in the season opener?
Goodbread: 6-to-1.
Toppmeyer: I'll go 8-to-1.
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Is Georgia's Carson Beck the Heisman Trophy frontrunner?
Toppmeyer: Beck performed well in his first season as Georgia's starter. As of mid-November, I was considering him for one of the three spots on my Heisman ballot. His season got overshadowed a bit by last season's other standout quarterbacks: LSU's Jayden Daniels, Washington's Michael Penix Jr., and Oregon's Bo Nix. Now that those guys are off to the NFL, should Beck be viewed as the Heisman frontrunner?
Weiszer: Beck threw for almost 4,000 yards last season. Earlier this offseason, I talked to experts at BetMGM and Caesars who had Beck either No. 1 or 1A in the Heisman odds, along with Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. Beck is Georgia's best Heisman candidate, by far. I think if Georgia becomes a top-four playoff seed, then Beck probably will be in New York as a Heisman finalist, at least.
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What's Georgia's biggest strength and its lingering question?
Toppmeyer: In Beck, Georgia possesses one of the nation's best quarterbacks. It should be loaded again on defense. What say you?
Weiszer: I look to the offensive line as its top strength. That group is very impressive and returned four of the five linemen who started in the Orange Bowl. As for quarterbacks, if Beck went down, could Gunnar Stockton win at the level Georgia needs? That remains to be seen. He played well against Florida State in the Orange Bowl, but FSU's roster was decimated. Georgia lost three guys in the secondary. The Bulldogs have talent back there, but you don't like to lose that much talent. They also need some defensive linemen to take the next step.
Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Chase Goodbread the sports columnist for the Tuscaloosa News. Marc Weiszer covers Georgia for the Athens Banner-Herald. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Alabama football quarterback competition for real? Georgia have a weakness?
