Position week: Georgia’s future at quarterback

The summer is here and after enjoying an extended break in may, Georgia players have made their way back to Athens to participate in workouts. The team will spend the next couple of months getting bigger, stronger, faster, and more connected.

That work will be done out of sight but not out of mind. In order to make sure everyone knows Kirby Smart’s ninth Georgia team as well as possible, DawgsHQ is providing readers with a week-by-week look at every room on the roster with our Position Week series. Today we’re wrapping up the first week of our series with a look at UGA’s future behind center.

Next season…

Transition is coming in 2025. Carson Beck has the option of sticking around for one more year but that’s almost certainly not going to happen. He even used the words “one more year” when he announced that he was coming back for the 2024 season.

That means that Gunner Stockton, Jaden Rashada, and Ryan Puglisi will duke it out and that competition starts now. Beck’s play in 2022 went a long way toward giving him a leg up on the starting job once Stetson Bennett moved on. Stockton, who is likely to be the No. 2 quarterback coming out of camp, has a chance to do that and Rashada will need to make the most of every opportunity he gets on the field this fall.

We fully expect Smart to hold a wide-open competition next spring. Stockton’s years in this system will help him out. Rashada’s game experience to this point is a plus for his chances. Puglisi, who battled a fractured fibula this spring and missed the G-Day game, has the raw talent and competitive nature to throw his hat into the ring as well. The current true freshman will have an uphill battle, however, because meaningful minutes aren’t likely to be in the cards for 2024.

Georgia QB recruiting…

If you look at commitments, Georgia is in great shape for the future. The Bulldogs got Ryan Montgomery, a four-star prospect in the 2025 class, last month and filled its spot for the class. Montgomery clearly wanted to be at UGA, evidenced by the fact that the Bulldogs recruited him for months while making it known that his offer wasn’t committable.

When they missed out on Matt Zollers, who chose Missouri, the decision was made to go all in on Montgomery rather than continuing to pursue JuJu Lewis. Montgomery was more than likely headed to Florida before the Georgia made his offer committable.

Mike Bobo also has his guy for the 2026 class. Jared Curtis committed to the Bulldogs in March. He’s the nation’s No. 7 overall quarterback and the top quarterback for his class according to the On3 Industry-Ranking. He won’t be able to sign until December of 2025 and that’s a long way away, but Curtis seems to feel pretty good about UGA.

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