ATHENS — Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was generally impressed with how Gunner Stockton seemed more prepared to play this season, even before the redshirt sophomore had been thrust into the starting role to replace the injured Carson Beck.
“I can’t say enough for the way he started the season and approached every game,” Bobo said. “Which sometimes that’s just words that we say, you’ve got be ready. But his day in and day out, how he approached getting ready for the game as if he was the starter, I think has prepared him for this moment. If you asked me that last year, I don’t think he had that same mindset. We talked about it going into the season, you’ve got to prepare as you’re the starter every week. And he took that to heart, and he did an excellent job of that.”
Stockton is now poised to make his first career start against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. At practice on Friday, it was Stockton who was the first quarterback going through drills.
But Stockton’s ascension also means that Ryan Puglisi and Jaden Rashada will have elevated roles for the remainder of the season.
In the SEC Championship game, Georgia coach Kirby Smart shared that Puglisi, a freshman from Paxton, Mass., would’ve entered the game when Stockton exited had Beck not been able to hand the ball off to Trevor Etienne for the winning score.
Puglisi was working as the second team quarterback during practice on Friday, though Rashada has also taken reps with the second unit.
“They’re getting more reps. They’ve done a nice job,” Bobo said. “I think since day one to now, I don’t even know what day we’re on, you’ve seen good and bad every day. You’re seeing less bad and seeing more good, and they’ve got to prepare because you never know, knock on wood, what’s going to happen at any given moment for those guys to prepare to get ready to play.”
While Rashada might be behind Stockton and Puglisi at the moment, he’s actually the only quarterback on Georgia’s roster with starting experience. He started three games for the Arizona State Sun Devils last season before transferring in this offseason.
Rashada did not get the chance to go through spring drills, while Puglisi was at least somewhat able to do so. He was held out of the G-Day scrimmage though due to a knee injury.
Rashada did have the most impressive throw of practice, as he uncorked a deep pass that hit Colbie Young in stride.
There’s no doubt that Georgia has talent in its quarterback room, even if it is lacking in seasoning at the moment.
“The quarterbacks, they’ve been, you know, what they’ve done all year,” Bobo said. “They come in with the expectation that we’ve got to prepare like we’re the starter. I know I’m giving you the answer, but that’s true, what we do in our room. Now, they’ve got more opportunities because we’re down a quarterback. And with how we practice at the University of Georgia, Coach Smart is going to continue to try to develop [them]. So, you know, throughout this whole bowl practice, ones, twos, and three, three groups are going. So now you’ve only got less quarterbacks repping, so those guys are getting more reps.”
Beck declared for the NFL draft on Saturday, indicating that his college career would be over. That means that Georgia will need a new starting quarterback for the 2025 season.
Stockton will get the first crack at being that guy, as the Bulldogs take on Notre Dame on Wednesday at 8:45 p.m. ET. But as everyone saw in the SEC Championship game, Georgia will need a backup QB ready to go and perform at a moments notice.