With every passing day, the QB battle is heating up in Kirby Smart’s squad. Now that their former QB Carson Beck has swapped wagons to Miami Hurricanes, Smart is yet to make the final call for the QB1 spot. As of now, he has his ‘observation’ glasses on. And what better way to observe your players than the spring practice? That’s where things took the left turn as Gunner Stockton failed to leave a mark. Fans might have already placed Stockton in Beck’s place when the college football insider dished out some reality checks. So maybe it’s time for Stockton’s 19-year-old rival to rise to fame.
Well, going by the On3 reports, Ryan Puglisi is far behind Stockton when it comes to the QB competition in Smart’s hood. Why so? 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. During his five appearances last season, the QB completed 45-of-64 passing attempts (70.3%) for 440 yards and one interception. Not just Beck, Stockton even drew comparisons with the winningest quarterback in school history, Connor Shaw. However, here comes some grounding alert from analyst Dean Legge.
On March 12, on the UGA Football on Dawg Post, Legge sounded unimpressed with Stockton. That’s because of his lackluster feat in the spring practice. “Gunner was not as accurate today. At first I thought it was quite accurate. Actually the deep b–ls were not super accurate.” They were mostly off-target, either falling too far or the throws were too short. That’s when Legge could not help but turn the spotlight on Smart’s wide receiver Arian Smith. “I’m going to just say this out loud, I thought Arian Smith had a good day and then it tailed off.” But he too messed up at some point. Now that the wheels of the Stockton hype train are falling off, will Smart start counting more on Puglisi?
Well, the 19-year-old is the No. 10 ranked quarterback and the No. 145 prospect overall. ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky started promoting the QB quite early. Orlovsky was attending a camp at Puglisi’s high school in Connecticut back in 2023. Post which 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 Drew 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.
The post Kirby Smart’s QB Plans Take a Twist as Gunner Stockton’s Spring Practice Woes Might Open Door for 19YO QB appeared first on EssentiallySports.