Georgia football: Top 10 quarterbacks in school history

Who are the best quarterbacks in Georgia football history? It's a hard list to whittle down. rn Georgia football may be "Running Back U", but they've had no shortage of great quarterbacks in their illustrious history.rnrnIn the 1940's and 50's, head coach Wally Butts pioneered the passing game in Athens with several great passers during his career. Vince Dooley focused more on the run but he occasionally had a some good quarterbacks.rnrnRay Goff brought passing to the forefront, Jim Donnan continued that, and Mark Richt took it to another level.rnrnRegardless, since the 1940's you can count on Georgia having a good quarterback as much as you can count on them having a great running back.rnrnRules are the same as the top 10 running backs countdown, current players are ineligible for this list.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Two running backs known for passing" slider="true" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51137" align="aligncenter" width="5298"] Jan 8, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; The Heisman Trophy on display at Playoff Fan Central at the Tampa Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rn Honorable Mentions: Frank Sinkwich and Charley Trippi rnI know what you're thinking and you're right, Frank Sinkwich and Charley Trippi were running backs.rnrnWell offensive football was totally different back then. In the early 1940's, Georgia ran a single-wing offense, like most teams in America. In that offense, the snap either went to the halfback or fullback on the fly and the offense revolved around them.rnrnThey were the runners, they handed the ball off to one another or to a wingback, they were receivers, and they were passers.rnrnDuring World War II, Georgia switched to a T-formation offense, but because of Trippi's skills as a passer, coach Wally Butts still designed plays for Trippi to pass the ball. Meaning the halfback toss-pass wasn't a gimmick in Georgia's offense in 1945 and 1946.rnrnBoth Sinkwich and Trippi eclipsed 1,000 yards passing in their careers with Sinkwich passing for 1,456 yards in his 1942 Heisman season.rnrnTrippi never had that great of a season passing the ball, but he did throw for 576 yards in 1945, a season in which he only played in Georgia's last six games.rnrnBecause of Sinkwich and Trippi being great passers in their times at Georgia, they deserved to at least be mentioned. But now for the traditional quarterbacks...rnrn[nextslide teaser="The quarterback of the early 1950's" slider="true" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_50441" align="aligncenter" width="4044"] Jan 2, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia Bulldogs mascot Uga stands on the field in the second quarter during a game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rn 10. Zeke Bratkowski (1951-53) rnif you like efficient passing, Zeke Bratkowski is not the quarterback for you. But it was the early 1950's and interceptions were more common than touchdown passes for many quarterbacks. Every year he threw more interceptions than touchdowns. As a sophomore he had a 6/29 touchdown-to-interception ratio and the ratio was 6/23 in 1953.rnrnBut he's on this list because of his significance to all quarterbacks who followed him at Georgia. Bratkowski was the first quarterback in school history to have three-straight 1,000-yard seasons. 1,578 as a sophomore, 1,824 as a junior and 1,461 as a senior.rnrnBratkowski didn't lead Georgia to a championship and his touchdown-to-interception ratio was terrible. But as the 1950's began, the passing game was beginning to be utilized for more than just desperate scenarios. Bratkowski was the first quarterback for Georgia in this new era for the passing game and he produced a ton of yards. His 4,863 career passing yards was a record that stood until 1994.rnrnBetter quarterbacks followed (and there was one better before him), but for being the first Georgia passer with 1,000 yards in three seasons, he certainly deserves the first spot on this list.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Fran the man" slider="true" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51634" align="aligncenter" width="3000"] Jul 21, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Former NFL quarterback Fran Tarkenton speaks during the 2016 Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY NETWORK[/caption]rn 9. Fran Tarkenton (1958-60) rnOne of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history actually spent a majority of his career at Georgia as a backup much like another quarterback on this list.rnrnCharley Britt was Georgia's starter from 1957-to-1959, but in Tarkenton's junior year he began to get more playing time and even threw more passes (102) than Britt (40).rnrnBut as a sophomore in 1958, Tarkenton only threw 30 passes for 175 yards with five touchdowns. he also had 73 rushing yards with two touchdowns. In Georgia's 1959 SEC Championship season, Tarkenton had 736 passing yards with six touchdowns but he also threw six interceptions.rnrnHe was the last quarterback of the Wally Butts era as Butts retired after Tarkenton's senior season in 1960. That year, Tarkenton passed for 1,189 yards with seven touchdowns, but he threw 12 interceptions.rnrnOverall, Tarkenton passed for 2,100 yards with 18 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Statistically it wasn't a great career. But he still helped lead the Bulldogs to a 10-1 SEC Championship season in 1959 and he went on to have a Hall of Fame career in the NFL.rnrn[nextslide teaser="The easiest job in America" slider="true" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_50600" align="aligncenter" width="3888"] Apr 16, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; General view of Sanford Stadium during the first half of the Georgia Bulldogs Spring Game at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rn 8. Buck Belue (1978-81) rnThere may be no player more underrated in Georgia football history than Buck Belue. This is one example where a good player got overshadowed by an all-time great player. For his final two years, a then for the following 36 years, Belue is has only been know as the quarterback who handed the ball off to Herschel Walker. Even Belue jokes that he had the easiest job on the team.rnrnWhile Walker definetely made Blue's career at Georgia easier, teams couldn't afford to overlook Belue.rnrnAs a personal example, me at 21 years old once decided to watch some old Georgia football games and I chose one day to watch the 1981 game against Tennessee. The Bulldogs won the game 44-0 so I expected a Herschel Walker highlight film.rnrnI did see a lot of dominant plays from Walker, but I was really impressed by Belue.rnrnIn fact, that really describes Belue's whole career at Georgia. You go to watch someone else, and quietly Belue. is doing plenty of damage himself.rnrnBelue finished his career at Georgia with 3,864 yards and 32 touchdowns in three years as a starter. His junior year, he had 1,314 yards with 11 touchdowns and his senior year he accumulated 1,603 yards with 12 touchdowns. Of course those stats don't look great today, but they were decent in the early 1980's.rnrnBelue is also known for his championships. As we all know, Georgia won the SEC Championship in 1980 and 1981, and a National Championship in 1980.rnrnBut Belue is most known for the play to beat Florida in 1980 to remain undefeated. While Lindsay Scott ran 80-plus yards, Belue had to scramble just to find Scott. It's a clutch play by someone you really wouldn't think was a clutch quarterback.rnrnThat's what Belue did though. He let you think all he was doing was handing-off to Walker.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Waiting his turn" slider="true" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_54913" align="alignright" width="3000"] Georgia QB D.J. Shockley rushed for 40 yards during the game against Auburn at Sanford Stadium in Athens, GA on November 12, 2005. The Bulldogs lost to the Tigers 31-30. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)[/caption]rn 7. D.J. Shockley (2002-05) rnD.J. Shockley is a lot like Fran Tarkenton in a lot of ways. Spent his first years as a backup before becoming a starter. They're both scramblers who played a lot even as backups before taking over as a senior.rnrnShockley spent his first three years as David Greene's backup, but Richt would often reward him by putting him on the field throughout games and not just when Georgia was blowing out opponents.rnrnIt didn't matter how close the game was. As a freshman he played against Clemson, South Carolina, Florida and Auburn. All close games decided by a touchdown or less. He even had a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown in the 31-28 win over Clemson.rnrnShockley finished 2002 with 415 passing yards with five touchdowns and 107 rushing yards with two touchdowns.rnrnHe only appeared in six games in 2003 after getting injured. That led to a dip in stats to just 88 passing yards and 101 rushing yards with one touchdown each.rnrnShockley returned in 2004 and appeared in 10 games and threw for 464 yards with one touchdown and ran for another 113 yards. Once again, he appeared in games regardless of how close they were including games against Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia Tech and Wisconsin.rnrn2005 was Shockley's year though. David Greene was gone and there was no doubt who would take over. Shockley proved early on that he wasn't just a backup. Against Boise State, Shockley had 289 passing yards with five touchdowns, and 88 rushing yards with another touchdown.rnrnGeorgia went on to win the SEC Championship that year and Shockley passed for 2,588 yards with 24 touchdowns and only five interceptions.rnrnIn his career, Shockley had 3,555 yards with 34 touchdowns and only nine interceptions.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Our former offensive coordinator" slider="true" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51636" align="aligncenter" width="3104"] Nov 26, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; Colorado State Rams head coach Mike Bobo looks on against the San Diego State Aztecs during the second quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rn 6. Mike Bobo (1994-97) rnThe beginning of Bobo's career was a rough one. As a freshman, he backed up Eric Zeier and passed for 325 yards as Georgia finished 6-4-1.rnrnBobo became the starting quarterback after Zeier's graduation but he only started four games as he was injured four games into the season. But in those four games, Bobo racked up 818 yards with five touchdowns.rnrnHe stayed healthy in 1996 and did pass for 2,440 yards with 13 touchdowns, but he also threw 16 interceptions. But his senior year is where he shined. He passed for 2,751 yards with 19 touchdowns and cut his interception total in half from the year before.rnrnBobo ended his time as Georgia's quarterback with 6,334 yards, 38 touchdowns and 26 interceptions.rnrnHe also delivered two of the best plays from the 1990's. His last second throw to Corey Allen against Auburn in 1996 completed that 21-point comeback and sent the game into overtime. Georgia eventually won the game after four overtimes. In 1997, Bobo completed a touchdown pass to Corey Allen in the back corner of the end zone to beat Georgia Tech.rnrnBobo went on to lead Georgia's offense to their most prosperous period in school history from 2007-to-2014. The bulldogs offense was never that great before and hasn't been as great since Bobo became the head coach at Colorado State in 2015.rnrn[nextslide teaser="The first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft" slider="true" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51637" align="aligncenter" width="3094"] Dec 11, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) calls out during the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears at Ford Field. Lions win 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rn 5. Matthew Stafford (2006-08) rnWho could go from having such a bad freshman year to being drafted no. 1 overall after his junior year? That's exactly what Matthew Stafford did from 2006-to-2008, and that 2008 season is why Stafford is ranked fifth on this list.rnrnBut as a true freshman in 2006, Stafford looked rough. Joe Tereshinski III was initially the starting quarterback for Georgia that year but he got injured in the second week of the season. That put Stafford in the spotlight against South Carolina and he responded by throwing three interceptions and no touchdowns.rnrnStafford even lost his starting job to Joe Cox after a bad first three quarters against Colorado, but he out performed Cox a week later against Ole Miss to become the backup for Tereshinski's return against Tennessee. But Stafford became the permanent starter after Tereshinski got injured against Vanderbilt.rnrnStafford finished his freshman year with 1,749 yards, seven touchdowns with 13 interceptions.rnrnBut he improved a ton in his sophomore year. He turned his touchdown-to-interception ratio around with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also passed for 2,523.rnrnBut as mentioned earlier, Stafford cracks the top-5 because of his junior year. He fell just 66 yards short of Eric Zeier's record of passing yards in a season with 3,459 yards. He broke the school record for passing touchdowns in a season with 25 and he again limited his interceptions to just 10.rnrnTo that point, it was one of the best seasons for a quarterback in Georgia football history, if not the best season. A year like Matthew Stafford's 2008 is definetely a year that'll put a quarterback on this list.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Georgia's first great passing quarterback" slider="true" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51132" align="aligncenter" width="4100"] Sep 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart puts on the Old Leather Helmet after the 2016 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Georgia Dome. Georgia won 33-24. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rn 4. John Rauch (1945-48) rnBelieve it or not, it was very tempting to put John Rauch at the top of this countdown. His 4,212 career passing yards and 35 touchdowns in four years as a starter do not look special by today's standards. But in the late 1940's, they were great.rnrnHe also had the wins to match those stats. Georgia went 9-2 his freshman year. As a sophomore, Rauch and Charley Trippi lead Georgia to an 11-0 SEC Championship season. The Bulldogs fell to 7-4-1 in 1947 before going 9-2 in 1948 and winning the SEC Championship again.rnrnAs a freshman, Rauch passed for 566 yards with six touchdowns to four interceptions. He increased those stats in 1946 to 797 passing yards with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions.rnrnRauch eclipsed 1,000 passing yards in his final two seasons with 1,542 in 1947 and 1,307 in 1948. But he did throw 11 interceptions to 10 touchdowns in 1947, and 13 interceptions to five touchdowns in 1948. But again, it was very common for a good quarterback to throw more interceptions than touchdowns in those days.rnrnSo good stats, a 36-8-1 record, two SEC Championships and a share of a national championship. What more can you ask for out of a quarterback?rnrn[nextslide teaser="The one that brought Georgia into a new era" slider="true" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51020" align="aligncenter" width="4169"] Oct 29, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia Bulldogs helmet during the first half at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rn 3. Eric Zeier (1991-94) rnWe've been through quarterbacks from the 1940's, 1950's, and 1980's already and they were all great for their eras. But Eric Zeier is great for all eras.rnrnZeier became a starter as a freshman in 1991 and immediately broke Zeke Bratkowski's record for passing yards in a season with 1,984 yards. He wasted no time by breaking his own record with 2,248 yards as sophomore and he broke it once more 3,525 yards as a junior, almost doubling Bratkowsk's record.rnrnHis yardage dipped a bit as senior with 3,396 yards. But as his career at Georgia ended, he had shattered another previous record with 11,153 yards, which almost tripled Bratkowski's record.rnrnAlong the way, Zeier threw 67 touchdown passes to 37 interceptions, including school records with 24 touchdowns in 1993 and 1994.rnrnBut Zeier is more significant because he's the quarterback that brought Georgia into a new era. by the late 1980's, more and more teams were using the passing game as a major part of their offense and at the time, most defenses were not adjusting at a fast rate.rnrnAll of the sudden, teams needed more out of their quarterbacks. For Georgia football, Eric Zeier delivered.rnrn[nextslide teaser="The lefty" slider="true" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_54911" align="alignright" width="3000"] ORLANDO, FL - JANUARY 1: David Greene[/caption]rn 2. David Greene (2001-04 rnA lot of things that can be said about Eric Zeier can also be said about David Greene and by th eend of the lefty's career, he had passed several career records set by Zeier.rnrnGreene managed to surpass Zeier in career passing yards, touchdowns, lowest interception percentage among others. He also became the third quarterback in Georgia football history to be a four-year starterrnrnIn 2001, Greene succeeded Cory Phillips as starting quarterback and never looked back. He passed for 2,789 yards with 17 touchdowns to just nine interceptions. Easily the best season for a freshman in Georgia football history.rnrnHe was even better in 2002. Georgia finished 13-1 and won the SEC Championship that season. Along the way, Greene passed for 2,924 yards with 22 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.rnrnInjuries to Fred Gibson and Reggie Brown and lack of a running game hurt Greene's touchdown-to-interception ratio, bringing it down to 13/11 and snapped his streak of consecutive passes without an interception at 176. But Greene did manage to pass for 3,307 yards.rnrnGreene's senior year however is one of the more efficient seasons that Georgia has ever seen. Greene dipped to 2,508 passing yards, but that was with one less regular season game and no SEC Championship game. He also had 20 with only four interceptions. Greene set the school record that year for consecutive passes without an interception at 214.rnrnEfficient is how Greene is known and that's why he takes the no. 2 spot on this list.rnrn[nextslide teaser="And number one is..." slider="true" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_51639" align="aligncenter" width="4193"] Sep 1, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Aaron Murray (7) throws a pass during the first half against the Green Bay Packers at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]rn 1. Aaron Murray (2010-13) rnIt could have been John Rauch. It could have been Eric Zeier. Or it could have been David Greene. But for me, Aaron Murray is the best quarterback to play for Georgia football ever. With Murray as starter, Georgia's offense had its best four years in program history.rnrnNo one has thrown or completed more passes as a Georgia Bulldog than Murray. He has four of the top 10 passing yards seasons in Georgia football history. Murray has the most career passing yards (13,166), most passing touchdowns (121) and most all-purpose touchdowns (137) in Georgia football history. He is the only Georgia quarterback with four 3,000 yards seasons.rnrnMurray took over as a redshirt freshman in 2010 and began the season without A.J. Green or a reliable running game. But he shattered Greene's freshman passing record with 3,049, throw 24 touchdown passes which tied him for second in school history. And he only threw eight interceptions. Murray also added four rushing touchdowns.rnrnHis sophomore year saw him shatter the Georgia record for passing touchdowns in a season with 35 (previous record was 25). He also passed for 3,149 yards with 14 interceptions. he also had two touchdowns on the ground.rnrn[nextpost teaser="What's Georgia planning for Mecole Hardman?" url="https://dawnofthedawg.com/2017/04/08/whats-going-georgia-bulldog-mecole-hardman/" /]rnrnMurray's junior year however was the best in Georgia football's long history. He passed for 3,893 yards with 36 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. he had another three touchdowns on the ground.rnrnHe ended his time in Athens (with three less games than 2012) with a 3,075-yard, 26-passing touchdown, 7-rushing touchdown, nine-interception senior season.rnrnThe Georgia offense has never revolved around a quarterback the way it revolved around Murray from 2010-to-2013. For that, Murray has earned the no. 1 spot on this countdown.

Dawn of the Dawg

Georgia football: Top 10 quarterbacks in school history

Who are the best quarterbacks in Georgia football history? It’s a hard list to whittle down.

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