QB Jacob Park Leaving UGA Cleans Up Roster, But Not Starter’s Battle
Jacob Park, a redshirt freshman quarterback who spent last season playing on Georgia’s scout team, has announced that he will be transferring and leaving the Bulldogs. However, the job of starting quarterback is still in a state of uncertainty in Athens.
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Many believed that if any quarterback would announce intentions to transfer after former UVA quarterback Greyson Lambert joined the team, it would be graduated junior Faton Bauta, who has one year of eligibility remaining and could play immediately at any school.
The surprise came today when Jacob Park, who some believed was the most physically gifted QB on Georgia’s current roster, announced via social media that he would be transferring, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"“I just want to say thank (you) dawg nation and everyone else who made my stay in Athens special. Never will forget the people and friends. Time to move on and turn the page to the next chapter. Go Dawgs.”"
This obviously came as a surprise to not only fans, but to Park’s father, Adam Park, as well.
"“I can’t tell you what’s up because I don’t know what’s going on myself. I have no clue where this came from. I don’t know nothing about it.”"
There has been speculation that Park will transfer to Colorado State to join former offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who helped recruit the former No. 4 QB in the nation to Athens in 2013.
While the apparent exit of Park does clean up Georgia’s roster somewhat, it hardly clarifies what has become one of the muddiest quarterback situations in the conference. The odd-on favorite, Brice Ramsey, probably still holds an edge over Bauta and Lambert, but there is truly no clear-cut standout in the group. Mark Richt and Brian Schottenheimer now really have some work to do.
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There’s still no guarantee Bauta will be around when fall arrives unless he’s given some reassurance that he still has a legitimate shot at becoming the starter, and should he decide to exit it would leave the Bulldogs with only two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. Given the schedule facing Georgia this year, that’s hardly the position in which Richt wants to find himself.
Ramsey has the backing of some coaches, Bauta had the better spring camp, and Lambert has the most experience.
This will be an interesting battle moving forward, without the wild-card Park to add to the fun.