ESPN writer David Hale attempted to rank all FBS quarterback groups into tiers. Out of the twenty tiers in the list, he ranked Georgia into the fifth tier, titled “The Waiting is the Hardest Part”.
Georgia is undergoing a quarterback battle between Gunner Stockton, who started in the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame, and Ryan Puglisi, a redshirt freshman who was a four-star recruit. Stockton played well enough for many, including Hale, to believe that he’ll win the job, but the job is still up in the air.
The quarterback battle took place after Carson Beck, who is in tier 1B (titled “So hot right now”) of this list, transferred to Miami to replace No. 1 pick Cam Ward. Beck and Stetson Bennett have been elite in Georgia’s system, and Hale pointed it out with this stat comparison:
Beck/Bennett: 80.3 QBR, 67% completions, 8.84 yards per attemptEvery other Kirby Smart quarterback: 66.3 QBR, 62% completions, 7.84 yards per attempt
Georgia has ranked in tier 1 in 2024, tier 3 in 2023, and tier 2A in 2022. It goes to show the shoes that Stockton or Puglisi have to fill.
Georgia’s quarterback room enters the same tier as Alabama, Oregon, and Ole Miss. Unlike Georgia, all three of these teams had a quarterback selected in the 2025 NFL draft, and the projected starters for each of these teams have been waiting patiently for their turn. Alabama’s Ty Simpson and Ole Miss’ Austin Simmons waited for two years behind Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart, while Dante Moore backed up Dillon Gabriel in Oregon for a year after transferring from UCLA.
Hale ranks Georgia’s quarterback room tied-for 25th along with Alabama, Oregon and Ole Miss. Overall, Hale included 20 ties and all 136 FBS quarterback situations.
