Georgia head coach Kirby Smart names Carson Beck starting QB (FREE)

College QB news - August 21, 2023

Photo courtesy of Georgia Athletics

Welcome to the first game week of the 2023 college football season. Plenty of QB battle winners made it in to today’s newsletter with some that are still undecided including Alabama and Ohio State.

If you missed it, this is already the third post of the week, starting with the new QB Rooms page that published last night. The page features every quarterback on an FBS roster and lists star ratings, recruiting classes, home states and years of eligibility — all on one page.

Additionally, the Week 0 QB depth chart & injury report was sent to subscribers this morning. That post is free to all subscribers to give you an idea of what to expect but will be exclusive to paying subscribers moving forward. Those will publish on Saturday nights/Sundays during the season to give you an early look at the week ahead.

Inside Today’s College Football QB Report…

🏈 College Football QB Report

🏈 Depth Chart & Injury Report

🏈 Transfer Portal Report

🏈 Recruiting Report

🏈 NFL Draft Report

🏈 Upcoming Key Dates

Subscribers get a weekday afternoon college football newsletter covering the quarterback injury, depth chart, transfer portal, recruiting and NFL Draft news of the day. A special game day guide is sent on Saturday mornings.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL QB REPORT

Quarterback Central | Teams | Players

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart officially named Carson Beck (Stats) the starting quarterback, according to Bulldawg Illustrated’s Coby Seriña. This has been the expectation ever since the Bulldogs broke away from spring practice, and it was only a matter of time before this announcement was made. Smart did not reveal the top option to be the backup, but Brock Vandagriff (Stats) should be considered the favorite over Gunner Stockton (Stats).

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze named Payton Thorne (Stats) the team’s starting quarterback, according to Auburn Live’s Justin Hokanson. The Tigers went to the transfer portal to land their 2023 starting quarterback after Thorne started multiple seasons at Michigan State. Thorne beat out last year’s starter Robby Ashford (Stats) and redshirt freshman Holden Geriner (Stats), and there will likely be special packages to use Ashford’s athleticism at quarterback.

Utah QB Cam Rising (Stats) remains a limited participant in practice, according to KSL.com’s Josh Newman. It’s looking more and more like the Utes will be without Rising for their Week 1 matchup with Florida as he recovers from a torn ACL in the Rose Bowl. Top backup option Brandon Rose (Stats) suffered an injury during training camp so if I had to guess, Bryson Barnes (Stats) is in position to take the first snap.

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DEPTH CHART & INJURY REPORT

Week 1 College football QB depth charts & injuries

Florida head coach Billy Napier said QB Jack Miller III (Stats) will be “back here shortly” after missing practice with shoulder tendonitis, according to the Gainesville Sun’s Kevin Brockway. This isn’t expected to be a major issue, but it’s notable considering he’s been out several days at this point. Miller is the favorite to back up Graham Mertz (Stats) over Max Brown (Stats), though walk-on Micah Leon (Stats) has been battling his way into the No. 2 spot.