Two Georgia reserve QBs making significant strides per Kirby Smart

ATHENS, Ga. — Kirby Smart hasn’t announced it yet and he may not, but Gunner Stockton is, for a fact, Georgia’s starting quarterback to start the 2025 season. Whether he can strengthen his hold on that job by the way he performs on the field remains to be seen, but it’s his job. But what about the guys behind him?

Well, that group starts with redshirt freshman Ryan Puglisi. The former four-star prospect missed almost all of his first spring with the team in 2024 with a fractured bone in his leg. Most of his 2024 season was spent with the Georgia scout team.

Now, entering season number two in Athens with one full spring under his belt and an entire offseason preparing as the backup, Puglisi has progressed. Smart doesn’t believe that Puglisi, who has yet to take a snap in a college game, is where he needs to be, but he’s a long way from where he was when he arrived at Georgia.

“Yeah, he prepares really hard,” Smart said of his young quarterback. “He studies, he’s smart, he picks things up. He makes mistakes, which they all do, and he learns from them. He generally knows when he messed up. He’s walking off the field in the scrimmage and didn’t change the protection on the play that he knew he should have. And he knew it messed him up, but he knew it right away, which is different than where he was this time last year. He’s still trying to figure that out. So he’s made some really good throws. He’s more comfortable in the pocket than he’s been. He understands things much better, and he has a confidence about him that has helped him. So his growth is a tribute to Coach (Brandon) Streeter and Coach (Mike) Bobo, working diligently with him and him absorbing that information.”

Puglisi’s readiness to play impacts the entire football team. If the Georgia staff is confident that he can come into the game and handle a series, a quarter, or even a game or two, then it is much more likely to completely unlock Stockton to use his legs.

Stockton isn’t some ultra-dangerous runner, but he’s quick and athletic enough to put a defense in conflict. He had a couple of runs against Texas that moved the chains and helped Georgia reach the end zone and win the SEC Championship.

As for the quarterbacks behind Puglisi, there are three. Colter Ginn is a walk-on who flashed some play-making ability in the G-Day game. Hezekiah Millender, a Clarke Central High School product, is a big, strong-armed signal caller who is a more capable runner than passer at this point in his development. Then there’s Ryan Montgomery, who sat in his first spring at Georgia.

The Ohio native chose the Bulldogs over Florida and South Carolina despite the fact that Georgia, at times, seemed to slow play his recruitment. Once UGA reached out with a committable offer, he locked in his spot. Now that he’s on the good side of his recovery from ACL surgery last fall, Montgomery is showing some positive signs.

“Mentally he gets it, he’s very into the mental side of it,” Smart said of Montgomery. “He throws a very catchable ball, very accurate passer. A little overwhelmed at times and probably thinking too much in terms of, we get the quarterback a lot. We give a freshman quarterback a lot because it’s a lot greater than what they’re used to. But he’s handled that volume well. He does a good job processing information and taking coaching to the field, which is a good sign for a quarterback.”