Before there was Kirby Smart, there was Mark Richt. Before there was DJ Shockley, there was Quincy Carter. Though they missed each other by just a few seasons, the two had solidified themselves as legends in the city of Athens.
The sad reality is that Carter played in an era of Georgia football that many fans recall to be the "dark ages," with few wins and major blowouts. When it was posted on social media that Richt and Carter ran into each other, fans wondered all the more what could have been.
What If: Quincy Carter and Mark Richt
Carter came to the Georgia Bulldogs after having a brief stint playing baseball. In his freshman season at Georgia, he became the first true freshman in over 50 years to start at QB for the red and black. He quickly set records for freshmen in program history and won the SEC Freshman of the Year award. In his freshman and sophomore seasons, he showed flashes of true talent as a dual threat quarterback.
However, Carter played in the Jim Donnan era of Athens paired with a junior season filled with injuries. That season, Carter would be benched after a shoulder and thumb injury combined with 10 interceptions to just six touchdowns.
Despite the rough junior year, Carter still finished what was second in school history in career passing yards, completions, attempts, and a host of other stats. He would go on to be drafted in the second round by the Dallas Cowboys.
Not long after Carter was drafted, Mark Richt joined the Bulldogs. A mere two seasons after Carter left, David Greene and the Bulldogs won their first SEC Championship in 20 years. And just five years after Carter's last game in Athens, Richt helped the Bulldogs win the SEC Championship in Atlanta with Shockley. If you want a good reference on what Carter could have been, he draws heavy comparison to Shockley. Shockley has gone down as a memorable name in Athens lore, also starting as a freshman and yet having much greater success in his overall career than Carter.
Richt brought some of the most memorable offenses in Georgia history to the program. Donnan did not. For that, Carter's level of success and this "what if" will never truly be known. Georgia fans however will not be complaining much given how much success they have garnered since with Kirby Smart.
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