For the second week in a row Georgia had plenty of time to play their backups thanks to dominating an overmatched opponent early in the game. Georgia played multiple backups all across the field, but all eyes were on Ryan Puglisi and Ryan Montgomery at quarterback as they may have settled who the backup will be this season.
Puglisi was the backup quarterback last season and heading into the year he was expected to hold that title again. A slow start to fall camp coupled with great showings from Montgomery put them both in a competition that Kirby Smart even acknowledged publicly.
Montgomery may have gotten the better of Puglisi in week one against Tennessee State, but Saturday against Western Kentucky it was the Puglisi show, once Gunner Stockton did his thing first of course.
Ryan Puglisi emerged as Georgia's clear backup quarterback
Puglisi once again got in the game before Montgomery for the second week in a row which is a sign that he may be the current backup. He may have only completed two of his five passes for 19 yards, but he rushed for 79 yards which included a 70-yard touchdown.
For those keeping track at home even Stetson Bennett, who was an extremely capable runner, never had a run for that many yards in his Georgia career.
After Puglisi it was Montgomery's turn to play, but he just couldn't get anything going. He only completed one pass in four attempts and didn't find any success on the ground like Puglisi did.
At this point it seems abundantly clear that Puglisi is the backup for the second year in a row. Hopefully it never gets to the point where Georgia needs him to take a meaningful snap this season, but if they need a backup to come in for Stockton he most likely will be the one called on.
Georgia's future at quarterback isn't as concerning as it once was
After this season Gunner Stockton will leave Georgia and the Bulldogs will have to find a new quarterback. Puglisi and Montgomery are the two most likely candidates to win the job next year, but their struggles throughout fall camp and lack of experience raised serious questions thinking ahead to the 2027 season.
Puglisi however put some of those concerns to bed on Saturday. His stellar performance is what he’s supposed to do against a team like Western Kentucky so it does need to be taken with a grain of salt. He however showed true potential in a regular season game for the first time of his career so that should give everyone a bit more confidence in the quarterback position post Stockton than they had before.
This may have been the last time Georgia fans get to see Puglisi or Montgomery this season. Georgia’s final 10 games this year are against SEC schools and Georgia Tech so it’s unlikely they win a game by 50 points again, but Puglisi showed on Saturday that he has the potential to be a good quarterback for Georgia if he wins the starting job next year.
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