For the first time this season Georgia will have the same quarterback start consecutive games as JT Daniels has returned to the field. For Vanderbilt, quarterbacks Ken Seals and Mike Wright will face the challenge of taking on Georgia’s defense.

Daniels hitting his stride while managing injury

JT Daniels returned to action after missing the game against UAB with a core injury, and had one of his best performances as a Bulldog.

Daniels completed 23 of 31 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns and one interception in the 40-13 victory over the Gamecocks.

“I think he certainly showed that he was healthy enough to play and he played with a high efficiency,” head coach Kirby Smart said of Daniels’ performance. “Still a couple decisions there that he’s got to make better decisions with the ball but you can’t argue with how he played on third down. He was efficient with the ball, made good decisions.”

Asked about his health this week, Daniels sounded optimistic about his ability to continue to manage his injury as the season wears on.

“You know it is getting better every day. It is something that’s been hurt since fall camp,” Daniels said. “It never really goes away, we played Clemson, and there was a little dip, so we focused on rehabbing, more of that last week. We rehabbed as much as we could but this week, we are still doing the same thing, same plan. It is just going to keep getting better and better.”

Vanderbilt has allowed six yards per carry so far this season, meaning the Georgia game plan could be very run and play action heavy. This should present a good opportunity for Daniels to continue to build chemistry with some of the young players stepping into big roles this season, as well as letting players working their way back from injuries get valuable reps.

If the run game is successful, play action passing will likely leave receivers running free in the middle of the field as the linebackers are sucked up.

Daniels is still waiting to get Darnell Washington and Dominick Blaylock back in the lineup, but did a good job distributing targets to a variety of receivers last week. Brock Bowers, Adonai Mitchell and Jermaine Burton have all established themselves as reliable targets for Daniels, and as Kearis Jackson continues to get up to speed his production should increase as well.

Seals, Wright will both see action for Commodores

Vanderbilt will start sophomore Ken Seals at quarterback, but will also use sophomore Mike Wright over the course of the game.

Seals’ strengths are mostly in the passing game but he can also threaten with his scrambling ability, while Wright provides a more consistent threat with his legs.

“He’s a really good athlete. He’s very fast. He’s been mobile and makes good decisions,” Smart said of Seals. “Their quarterbacks are capable of running the ball and creating that extra element with the run. I have a lot of respect for the job he’s done in the two games he’s played.”

Seals had a tough outing in Vanderbilt’s game against Stanford, completing 16 of 37 passes for 120 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Wright provided a good spark for the Commodores in their matchup with the Cardinal, going two for three with 31 yards passing and rushing three times for 36 more yards.

How much each of the two quarterbacks play will be interesting to follow throughout the game. The Georgia defense provides the toughest challenge of the season for Vanderbilt regardless of who is at quarterback, so both Seals and Wright will have their work cut out for them when they’re in the game.

One way that Vanderbilt could try to attack on offense is with the deep passing game. While Georgia’s defense hasn’t allowed many points this season, the Bulldogs have been vulnerable to downfield shots at times. Georgia allowed four pass plays of thirty yards or more last week, so Seals and Wright may try to test the coverage down the field if they can buy the time in the pocket to do so.

Printed with permission from the Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Ga.; redandblack.com/sports