The QB race in Athens is heating up. With former QB1 Carson Beck moving to Miami, the question is, who’s next? Well, if you’ve moved around Kirby Smart’s roster, you would say that Gunner Stockton is leading the charge. And that’s not just on the field. Yes, we saw him rise to the national scene when he replaced an injured Beck during the SEC championship and later the college football playoffs. But there’s much more he is bringing to Smart’s table.

If history is any lesson, we know that the HC will be choosing experience over anything. So the next best in line, the redshirt freshman Ryan Puglisi, is already drowning here. Stockton has played and started for Georgia, and even if they are just a handful of games, they are still more than what Ryan has. Stockton’s 45-of-64 passing attempts (70.3%) for 440 yards and one interception in the only four game appearances? So impressive that he drew comparison to school’s winningest QB David Greene. And even if we were to ignore the numbers, Gunner’s voice, cool leadership, and even his smile oozing confidence, seems to have intoxicated everyone. However, there’s a fresh but. Literally!

You see, Kirby is running spring practices where he is observing all of his players because for him, “As far as quarterback, it’s just like every position guys. Every day, you’re competing and fighting and doing the best you can to compete with every guy.” But there, Stockton failed to impress. Although everyone must have placed him in Beck’s shoes already, his dipping performance just might have opened the doors for his 19-year-old competition with analyst Dean Legge sharing his thoughts.

Earlier this week, on the UGA Football on Dawg Post, Legge sounded unimpressed with Stockton after his lackluster spring practice. “Gunner was not as accurate today. At first, I thought it was quite accurate. Actually the deep balls were not super accurate.” They were mostly off-target, either falling too far or too short.

Legge further added, “It was the short and intermediate routes where Gunner Stockton looked really crisp and he wasn’t missing guys. The only guy he really threw inconsistently to overall and on the routes was someone he doesn’t throws to a ton. A guy names Isiah Reeves, is not someone he’s used to throwing to as much… Gunner, he doesn’t seem like a deep ball guy today. But I think Gunner had a… for sure balls that are closer to the line of scrimmage, he’s better at those. But deep balls are not easy to hit… At first I thought ‘Yeah Gunner looks good’ but then the ball was behind a little bit.”

Now that the wheels of the Stockton hype train are falling off, will Smart start counting more on Puglisi? Well, there are six months for the next season to start for UGA and many thoughts going into who will be the next game caller.

Going by the On3 reports, Ryan Puglisi is far behind Stockton when it comes to the QB competition. As Greg McElroy stated on his podcast – Stockton brings in the mobility, more than what Beck could offer in the past two years of his Georgia stay. That’s because Stockton’s stats made him believe so. And as for Puglisi, Kirby has some thoughts.

“He’s a competitor. He never flinched during the recruiting process. We had another commitment at times. I forget the timelines, but he never wavered. Those have been some of the best kids we’re recruited. The ones that say, ‘I don’t care who else is coming, I don’t care who is there, I see the growth and development you’ve had at the quarterback position.’ He had a passion and energy about Georgia.

“He made some good throws on the run, and he’s got a strong arm. He does have a long way to go in terms of learning exactly what we’re asking him to do. The command of the offense, the volume of the offense. He’s getting better at all those things.” Of course, the 19-year-old has not yet played a single game for the team and hence, the hands-on experience is lacking. But this was the same case with Stockton until he was suddenly pushed into the leading role in his second season with the team. Interestingly, Kirby has thoughts on him too.

“He’s a tremendous leader, but that’s nothing I didn’t already know. … He’s done everything right since he’s been here. He’s got a lot of knowledge of our system, and I think that kind of resonates with the other players. They rally around Gunner because they have a lot of respect for him.”

Well, the Paxton native is the No. 10 ranked quarterback and the No. 145 prospect overall. ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky started promoting the QB quite early when he was attending a camp at Puglisi’s high school in Connecticut back in 2023. Later, he tweeted, “Kid is incredibly talented with an absolute cannon, but old man got em today. You owe me 20 push-ups RP!”

The redshirt freshman was dinged up last spring and missed the G-Day game with a fractured bone in his lower leg. But this time he enters with a firm grasp on the No. 2 job. While the debate is on, Smart gets some wise advice.

Kirby Smart finding the right balance is the fix

The Bulldogs squad is now undergoing some wear and tear. They are replacing four starters – including offensive linemen Tate Ratledge and Xavier Truss. Their returner Monroe Freeling too has to take the backseat due to shoulder surgery. So amidst all these losses and the growing QB hoopla, Smart needs to stand by his goal. As Legge suggested, “They’ve got to get the offensive line right.” Smart will still have to find the answers to certain questions.

“They’ve got to figure out kind of what they’re doing. Does Daniel Calhoun start coming in the middle? Is Drew Bobo at center?” Well, it was only last season that the HC counted on Bobo to start after Jared Wilson fell prey to an ankle injury. While moving into the 2025 season, Bobo looks suited up for a much larger role in the Bulldogs’ offense, Smart is yet to get clarity about Daniel Calhoun. So is the issue about lagging talent in Georgia?

Absolutely not. Rather the problem lies in overdoing with the talent. Kirby Smart will have to take the reins before things get out of hand. Now come on, too many ingredients just make the recipe complex and cumbersome. Whereas, nothing beats the taste of a simple comforting meal.

As Dean Legge previously suggested, “It’s not like they don’t have guys but whatever you know whatever you’re putting in the soup everything’s got to mix together to where everything tastes good at the end of the day.” May the Georgia HC steer the ship back on course soon.