The Uncertain Future of Georgia Football's Quarterback Position

Georgia Football finds itself in quarterback limbo with the news of Dylan Raiola. Raiola could stay firm in his commitment to the Dawgs, but the chances of that are slim, given the information we all have now. Brock Vandagriff went on to green pastures in Kentucky, and now the Dawgs are left with Gunner Stockton and Carson Beck. 

Stockton was a 4-star recruit out of Rabun County and was the #7th QB in the 2022 recruiting class. Stockton has a ton of talent but is also raw and has very limited playing time. The big question is, will Carson Beck come back? If you are reading this, Carson, please, will you stay?

But Beck can move on to the NFL and make himself some money. But recently, there have been reports that Georgia is trying to keep Beck with a nice N.I.L package. Beck will be considered a favorite for the Heisman next season and a lock for a first-round pick. Georgia also has a challenging schedule ahead of them in the 2024 season, and having Beck will definitely help the Dawgs' chances of getting into the playoffs. It could also help Beck because he could be the 1st overall pick in the NFL. 

So all that looms over Kirby Smart, Mike Bobo, and the rest of the offensive coaching staff. Smart and the coaching staff could know what Beck’s future holds, but they probably want to ensure they have an answer if Beck decides to go to the NFL. Enter Maalik Murphy. 

Murphy, the backup quarterback for Texas this season, has entered the portal this week. Murphy is only a redshirt freshman and also started in two games for the Longhorns due to an injury to Quinn Ewers. Murphy is from Gardena, California, and was the ninth-ranked QB in the country for the 2022 recruiting class. 

Murphy has a ton of talent and a huge arm, but Murphy is also extremely raw and needs some more development. But after watching the guy this season, I like how Murphy can play. Everything is there for Murphy to be an elite college quarterback. 

Georgia is one of the teams mentioned as a landing spot for Murphy, which is head-scratching. The prevailing thought was that Beck was returning, and the race for backup would be against Stockton and incoming freshman Ryan Puglisi.  Why would Murphy want to sit behind someone for another year? Is Carson Beck coming back? There are a lot more questions out there about the QB position than there are answers. 

Hopefully, this all gets solved sooner rather than later. The worst possible outcome of this is Beck leaving and Georgia scrambling to land a quarterback in the portal. The best outcome is that Beck comes back for one more year. Murphy decides to come to Georgia and sit a year behind Beck and develop and play next year; that would also be great. All Georgia fans should root for Beck to return for more seasons.