Ryan Puglisi may not be the favorite to be Georgia's starting quarterback this fall, but he is showing that he is taking the necessary steps that could challenge Gunner Stockton throughout the rest of fall camp.
The one thing that everyone has pointed to that has given Stockton the edge over Puglisi is his knowledge of Georgia's offense. But according to Kirby Smart on Tuesday, that is something Puglisi has greatly improved on compared to last year.
"He understands things much better, and he has a confidence about him that has helped him," Smart shared via si.com. "So his growth is a tribute to coach Streeter and coach Bobo, working diligently with him and in him absorbing that information."
Ryan Puglisi will be ready when his number is called
Not only has Puglisi shown that he understands the offense a lot more this year, he has also shown that he can learn from his own mistakes without having to be told what he did wrong.
"He generally knows when he messed up," Smart continued. "He's walking off the field in scrimmage and didn't change the protection on the play that he knew he should have, and he knew it messed him up, but he knew it right away, which is, you know, different than where he was this time last year. You're still trying to figure that out."
No one should doubt Puglisi's raw talent as a QB as it has been clear that he is a special talent from the moment Georgia began recruiting him out of high school. But it was the mental side of the game where he had some catching up to do, and it appears he has done just that.
As mentioned, Stockton will be Georgia's starting quarterback this fall, but UGA fans learned last year that the backup QB alwasys needs to be ready to play. Thankfully it sounds like Puglisi is finally at a point where he will be ready to take over if his number is called.