Georgia blue-chip transfer quarterback struggling to establish himself on depth chart at fall camp

Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo told reporters at fall camp in Athens that Carson Beck is the one who set the standard for the Bulldogs' impressive stable of backup quarterbacks. Bobo said that Beck told redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton, true freshman Ryan Puglisi, and former five-star redshirt freshman transfer Jaden Rashada, “You need to take this camp like you’re getting ready to play Clemson the first game. I didn’t do that when I was young. I wasn’t taking advantage of every opportunity to be the starter.” 

Well, if Beck, one of the Heisman Trophy favorites entering his second year as the starter for Georgia, is for some reason not able to go against the Tigers in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 31, then the reports out of Athens indicate that it would be Stockton, not Rashada who would get the nod. 

Rashada was one of the most hyped quarterback prospects in the country, now embroiled in a lawsuit against Florida head coach Billy Napier over a $13+ million NIL deal that fell through and ultimately redirected Rashada to Arizona State for one season. Georgia plucked him out of the transfer portal over teams like UCLA who could’ve handed him the starting job, but now it’s likely that he won’t just be the backup to Beck, but the third-stringer for his redshirt freshman season. 

With Rashada’s unique situation and the potential to lose the starting job in Tempe to Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt, he fled in the spring portal window, which meant less time with Bobo’s playbook in his hands. 

“We’d’ve loved to have Jaden before spring,” Bobo told Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald last week, “It didn’t work out that way. He was able to get here in early May and start trying to learn the playbook. He’s in the process of learning it now.”

That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement from the play-caller and with the familiarity that Bobo and Kirby Smart have with Stockton, QB2 is his job to lose. Stockton completed six of 10 passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns in his only collegiate action during the Orange Bowl last season. He’s continued to impress in camp. 

The reports out of last weekend’s practices were that Stockton took some reps with the first-team offense and is continuing to solidify his hold on the backup quarterback job. 

Becoming the starting quarterback for Kirby Smart takes a lot of patience. This offseason former five-star Brock Vandagriff’s patience finally ran out as he left to become the starter at Kentucky. If Stockton can hold onto QB2 throughout the year, then as a redshirt junior next year, his name, not Rashada’s could finally be called to lead the most dominant football program of the decade.