Gunner Stockton is Georgia's starting quarterback this season, but the QB behind him on the depth chart isn't clear yet. The vast majority of college football fans and analysts believed Ryan Puglisi would be Georgia's backup quarterback this season since he was last year, but redshirt freshman Ryan Montogomery is making a strong push to pass him.
Kirby Smart was asked about the backup quarterback battle during his press conference on Tuesday, and he admitted that it is still ongoing.
Kirby Smart said the battle for QB2 behind Gunner Stockton "is not over."
— Olivia Sayer (@OliviaKSayer) August 25, 2026
Not only is it is still ongoing, but he said that the competition between Puglisi and Montgomery could spill over into the regular season.
Smart on backup QB battle…
— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) August 25, 2026
“That will play out in live action, whether that’s live action with us or live action in a game.”
Georgia's backup QB battle is heating up right before the season begins
The most likely outcome is that Georgia will figure out who their backup quarterback is during practice, but there is a scenario where they could let Ryan Puglisi and Ryan Montgomery settle it on the field during a regular season game.
Georgia starts their 2026 season with two cupcake games. They host Tennessee State week one and Western Kentucky in week two and the Bulldogs most likely will win both games by a wide margin. Once the game is in hand and there is no chance they lose, Kirby Smart likely will pull Gunner Stockton and the other starters like he usually does to preserve their health. Then he could let both Puglisi and Montgomery play to show what they're capable of in a real game.
This is only possible if Georgia jumps out to a big lead in these games, but if that happens then Smart could let them fight for the backup job in front of a packed stadium which would be much different than competing on the practice field.
Georgia's quarterback battle could foreshadow what's to come next season
While this backup competition is intriguing it won't have any impact on the field this season unless Gunner Stockton were to get hurt during the year. The winner of this competition however could have an upper hand next offseason to be Georgia's next starting quarterback with Stockton departing after this season.
Next offseason Georgia will have a quarterback battle. Every QB on their roster will have a chance to win the starting job heading into the 2027 season, but as of now Puglisi and Montgomery are the two leading candidates. Whoever wins the backup job this season would be the favorite to win the starting job next year.
Being the favorite doesn't mean they will win the job though. Proof of that is occurring right now because Puglisi hasn't secured the backup job yet even though he had it all last season. Even though whatever happens this year won't have a huge impact on the competition to be the starter next year, it could give fans an idea of who is most likely to win the job in 2027.
Ryan Puglisi and Ryan Montgomery have both had great moments in practice. They both have also struggled at times in practice as well. Potentially the best way to figure out who should be the backup might be to let them play on the field in the regular season, and Kirby Smart believes there is a chance that could happen.
Add us as a preferred source on Google