Will it be Gunner Stockton’s show, or will Ryan Puglisi challenge him for the starting job?
That’s the most-asked question about the situation at quarterback for Georgia entering the start of spring practice on March 11.
Although he hasn’t played much, Stockton does hold the edge in experience over Puglisi, who redshirted as a true freshman and did not play in any games.
Stockton, meanwhile, took over for the injured Carson Beck in the second half of the SEC Championship. He later started Georgia’s playoff game in the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame, completing 20 of 32 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown.
The fact that he’s been around the program for three years and knows the offense would lend to Stockton being the prohibitive favorite.
He may well be. However, Puglisi will get a long look.
Hezekiah Millender should help with practice.
Signee Ryan Montgomery is enrolled, but per his father, he will not be cleared for practice until June. The Ohio native could do “some stuff” in the spring.
Walk-ons Colter Ginn, Collin Drake, and Sam Bush will see their share of work.
But now, entering his second season in the program, Puglisi is making strides, and it will be important that he continues. Unless Kirby Smart decides to reach into the portal for another quarterback, Puglisi figures to be, at worst, No. 2 on the depth chart this fall.
“There’s everything in your game you can always get better at, just trying to push everything in your game to the next level and just fine-tuning a bunch of things,” Puglisi told UGASports at the Sugar Bowl. “Being a quarterback, the mental side is a big thing, too."
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo believes Puglisi has all the traits necessary to be a successful quarterback in the SEC.
“He's a guy that's got a strong arm. He's a guy that's one year in this offense, is learning the offense, and studies extremely hard,” Bobo said. “He’s more athletic than people give him credit for and has a good understanding and takes command when he's in the huddle and shows all the attributes you'd like in a quarterback.”
Stockton already appears to have won over most of the team.
The energy he injected into the team to begin the second half of the SEC Championship was notable, which former teammate Malaki Starks acknowledged.
“I mean, he's the guy that you want to lead, to get behind. A lot of guys have confidence in him. I think you saw it during the game in the SEC; a bunch of guys believed in him,” Starks said. “He's easy to follow. But he also puts the work in, and he wants to be better. Like, every day, like, he's asking questions. Like, you can see where he wants to go with it. I think that's a big thing that everybody loves to see out of him.”
With Stockton under center, look for the Bobo and Georgia’s other offensive coaches to tweak the offense to better suit the junior's skill set.
Per sources, that could include more mesh concepts to get the ball to the wideouts, tight ends, and running backs.
Stay tuned.
