Kirby Smart's Most Recent Comments on Georgia's Quarterbacks
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ATHENS - While Kirby Smart has not officially named a starting quarterback for his 2025 Georgia Bulldogs, it seems clear who is going to win that job.
Gunner Stockton is expected to be Georgia’s top signal caller this season as he heads into his fourth year in the UGA football program. Redshirt freshman Ryan Puglisi has made headlines this offseason and has the talent that prompted people to believe he may have a chance to push Stockton for the starting spot, but so far, it looks like the latter will be slinging the football in the fall.
Smart made an appearance on Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic’s show, “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” earlier this week. A conversation about Georgia’s quarterbacks was sparked, and Smart offered his first public comments about how the two have performed since the G Day game over a month ago.
What will determine who lines up under center for Georgia?
“For me it is who plays the best, who gives us the best chance to win,” Smart said.
Recently for Georgia, this has meant the older player with more experience in the program.
“We’ve got a young kid (Puglisi) coming up that has not had many real reps,” Smart said. “He didn’t go through spring last year. This was his first real spring in Puglisi. He’s coming up, getting better.”
Puglisi became the backup quarterback once Stockton took over the starting duties for the injured Carson Beck during the 2024 postseason. He has a very strong arm and quick release, along with boasting more prototypical size for the position than Stockton, which fans flocked to as a reason for him to potentially be the next starter.
At Georgia’s spring game, it was clear that if Stockton has not already solidified himself as QB1 already, then he has a big lead in doing so. Stockton took almost all of the first-team reps and finished with more production and a better completion percentage than Puglisi. Puglisi did have one drive with the first-team offense against the first-team defense in which he led the offense right down the field while completing all three of his passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Stockton’s position in the spring combined with his older age and extremely valuable experience in the SEC Championship and the College Football Playoff loss to Notre Dame give him a real leg up on Puglisi.
“It’s what we believe is the process of growing kids up and getting them better. And he’s (Stockton) been in the program for a while,” Smart said. “Now Puglisi’s in those same footsteps. And he gets a chance to compete.”
Summer workouts and fall camp will be the final determinant in this battle, and Smart has stated Puglisi has a chance, but his verbiage and what has been displayed over the last few months point towards Stockton moving forward as QB1 in August.