Mark Richt played Georgia quarterback situation close to the vest for a reason

Mark Richt announced today that Greyson Lambert would be Georgia’s starting quarterback for the Week 1 game against Louisiana-Monroe, and he’s been keeping silent on the competition for a very good reason.

In what may have been the most innocuous starting quarterback announcement of the year, Georgia head coach Mark Richt named former Virginia quarterback Greyson Lambert as the starter for the Bulldogs’ opening game against Louisiana-Monroe this Saturday.

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Lambert has been in a battle with Brice Ramsey and Faton Bauta for the starting job, and throughout the process Richt has been keeping mum on who was in the lead (if anyone) even stating more than once that a multi-quarterback system could be employed by the Dawgs.

There’s a reason Richt was playing it so close to the vest, and that’s because he didn’t want anyone to think it really mattered who played quarterback – and truthfully, it probably doesn’t.

Lambert was barely serviceable at Virginia, even being demoted to second string, but Richt and the coaching staff weren’t looking at his film, they wanted to see what he could do with the Bulldogs’ personnel and without having to be the player an offense leaned on to move the ball.

“Anything that he did at Virginia had no bearing on the decision to name him the starter today,” Richt said via WSB Atlanta. “Lambert is going to start the game. There may be others that get in the game, but he’s the starter. It’s been a very, very close competition and it’s still being contested. But at this point, we felt it was wise to name the starter and get him the reps with the No. 1 unit.”

Is Richt being kind to say that the competition is still close? While Lambert and Ramsey have shared a lot of first team reps in practice, one would think that Ramsey – who stepped in to finish the big Georgia win over Louisville in last season’s Belk Bowl – would have already had the upper hand.

It would seem that the starting job was Ramsey’s to lose, and he did just that…lose his chance to be the true starting quarterback.

The hints that Richt has dropped all along that Georgia may go with multiple quarterbacks now seem even more plausible, and it wouldn’t be the first time that Richt had success using more than one QB in a season.

Oct 11, 2014; Columbia, MO, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Brice Ramsey (12) talks with coaches on the sideline during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field. Georgia won 34-0. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The truth of the matter is all in how you look at it. As Obi-Wan once said, many of the truths we cling to greatly depend on your own point of view. For those who look at UGA with the glass half full, the Bulldogs have two or three guys who could all be good enough to start. For the more cynical, Georgia doesn’t have a clear-cut starter and will make due until Jacob Eason arrives next fall.

Whether or not Greyson Lambert, Brice Ramsey or even Faton Bauta was named a starter, or if any of them were good enough to be considered a top SEC quarterback is secondary. The announcement was for appearances, and the results may be the same regardless.

If you want to gauge the success of the Bulldogs this season, it will fall on the legs of Nick Chubb and his running counterparts, and on the young but exciting defense. Whoever starts, plays or finishes at quarterback just needs to play within themselves and not cost the Bulldogs a game.

Next: 15 Quarterbacks With the Most to Prove in 2015

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