BUFORD — Mike Bobo made sure not to wade into the autopsy of what happened with Georgia’s quarterback situation last year.
The widespread assumption was that, had Bobo remained as Georgia’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Brice Ramsey would have been the starter in 2015. Instead, Bobo got the Colorado State head coaching job and his former program, after examining Ramsey and two other options, imported Greyson Lambert and started him all but one game.
So what do you think happened with Ramsey, Bobo was asked Thursday?
“I don’t know, I wasn’t there last year,” Bobo said, leaving it at that.
Ramsey didn’t start any games, serving most of the season as the No. 2 quarterback. But at times, he showed the strong arm talent that made Bobo and then-head coach Mark Richt sign him. But as now-head coach Kirby Smart has pointed out, it’s not just Ramsey’s arm.
“He’s a better athlete than people think,” Bobo said. “Anybody that can punt, pass and kick like he can has got a good skill-set. It’s about him gaining that confidence and believing that you can do it. Really all young guys. Sometimes you get to college and you’re around other guys and you’re like, ‘Whoa.’ You’ve still got to believe in yourself and your abilities. The coaches believe in you or they wouldn’t have signed you. You’ve got to believe in yourself and go out there and do it every day, and embrace the competition. So they should have a great competition.
“But we’ve got our own competition in Fort Collins, and that’s what I’m concerned with.”
And hey, speaking of that …
Faton Bauta was the one other quarterback to start last year for Georgia. It didn’t go well against Florida, he was dropped back to No. 3 on the depth chart, and transferred after the regular season to Colorado State, where he’s immediately eligible as a graduate transfer.
Bauta hasn’t been awarded the starting quarterback job, but Bobo made it sound like the player he signed twice (at Georgia and CSU) has a good shot.
“Faton had a really good spring,” Bobo said. “Faton, I tell a lot of people, was a third-string guy for a long time at the University of Georgia. And outside of spring and the first two weeks of camp you don’t get a lot of reps. Then this past year he played the one game (against Florida), but I don’t know how many reps he really got this year. So he — to me, he got a lot better as spring went on, because he was running with the ones, and got a lot of reps. And he’s mature, he understands what we’re doing on offense. And he’s a competitor.
“He wanted to go somewhere he had a chance to play and win a championship. And he’ll have that chance to play, and I believe we’ll compete for a championship. So I’m excited for him.”
Bauta lacked the arm talent of others, but was always praised at Georgia for his work ethic and leadership. That’s carried on to Fort Collins; he didn’t go home the five recent weeks that players had off, instead coming in the office every day.
“He’s always had that desire. He still has it today,” Bobo said. “He’s a grinder, and he’s working in his opportunity. He’s got one more opportunity and he’s trying to make it happen with us at Colorado State.”