Inside Georgia football's backup quarterback situation

Georgia Bulldogs fans are very familiar with the importance of having a good backup quarterback. Last season, the Bulldogs won an SEC championship with Gunner Stockton coming in and playing well in the second half against Texas after Carson Beck suffered a serious elbow injury.

In 2025, Georgia is expected to start redshirt junior Gunner Stockton. Georgia has almost no experience behind Stockton in the quarterback room.

Stockton's projected backup, Ryan Puglisi, is a redshirt freshman, and has never appeared in a game for Georgia. Puglisi is a pocket passer and a former four-star recruit. Georgia coach Kirby Smart likes how Puglisi prepares, but if he has to play for an extended period of time, then that could spell trouble for Georgia. Puglisi has gotten a lot of practice reps this offseason and is expected to see his first game action early in the season against Marshall and/or Austin Peay. However, Puglisi still has a lot to learn.

"He prepares really hard," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Puglisi. "He studies, he's smart, picks things up. He makes mistakes, we'll say I'll 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.

"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. He makes some really good throws and he's more comfortable in the pocket than he's been. He understands things much better and he has a confidence about it that has helped."

Puglisi looked solid in Georgia's G-Day spring game, especially with the first-team offense (three of three for 52 passing yards and a touchdown with the first-team offense). Puglisi has gotten a lot of reps and went 23 of 49 for 224 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the spring game. He flashed a bit more mobility than we expected and rushed six times for 24 yards on G-Day.

Beyond Puglisi are even larger unknowns. Georgia's third-string quarterback may actually be preferred walk-on Colter Ginn, who is only a redshirt freshman. Additionally, competing for the third-string role are true freshmen Ryan Montgomery (four-star) and Hezekiah Millender (three-star).

Montgomery comes in as the No. 14 quarterback recruit in the nation, but he tore his ACL early into his senior year of high school. He lacks experience like the rest of Georgia's quarterback room outside of Gunner Stockton.

"Yeah, mentally, he gets it, and he's very into the mental side of it," Smart said on Montgomery. "He throws a very catchable ball, a very accurate passer. A little overwhelmed at times and probably thinking too much in terms of, we give the quarterback a lot, and 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, and he does a good job processing information and taking coaching to the field, which is a good sign for a quarterback."

Overall, Georgia's quarterback room lacks experience beyond Gunner Stockton. Georgia's lack of quarterback depth should make the Bulldogs hesitant to have designed runs for Stockton. Frankly we don't feel this team is capable of winning a national championship with a backup quarterback unlike some of the previous Georgia teams. This is not a good year for quarterback depth at Georgia, but Ryan Puglisi could fill in for a starter as a game or two and keep the team afloat.

Georgia quarterback depth chart

1. Gunner Stockton
2. Ryan Puglisi
3. Colter Ginn
4. Ryan Montgomery
5. Hezekiah Millender

This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Are Georgia football's backup quarterbacks ready?