4-star QB Ryan Montgomery commits to Georgia: ‘They’re the standard in college football’

Findlay (Ohio) four-star quarterback Ryan Montgomery took his first trip to Georgia during his freshman year for a spring practice. He enjoyed spending time around head coach Kirby Smart and his staff and left Athens thinking that “this is the kind of place I can see myself at.” 

Montgomery turned that feeling into reality on Wednesday by committing to Georgia over Florida and South Carolina. After feeling “very good” about the Gators following an April 6 visit, he is now headed to their conference rival.

“It starts with practice and how everybody in that building carries themselves,” Montgomery told On3. “It starts with coach Smart. He’s on the microphone all practice and coaching kids hard but ultimately, he is trying to make them better. I like how intense practice is and that’s going to translate to the games. I think they’ve built a program where they have a lot of like-minded kids and coaches. They’re going to win at a high level for quite a long time.”

Montgomery believes he is ‘built’ to play for Georgia

Montgomery’s most recent visit to Georgia was on March 16. The 6-foot-2.5, 215-pound signal-caller made sure to tell Smart, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo and others that he wanted to play for the Bulldogs.

“I went there with a plan to say, ‘Hey, this is where I really want to be,’” said Montgomery, the No. 186 overall prospect and No. 14 quarterback in the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking. “‘I’m all about this program and I think I’m going to thrive here. I think I’m built for this program. I’m a machine and Georgia’s a machine. They’re the standard in college football.’ I laid everything out there.” 

Ever since then, Montgomery feels like Georgia started recruiting him even harder. On the night of April 11, Bobo called the No. 9 player in Ohio to tell him that he had a committable offer to the SEC program. 

“Coach Bobo is awesome,” Montgomery said. “He played the position, so that is definitely big. It’s an extra layer of knowledge that he has and also, he’s been at Georgia for a while. He’s been in contact with me since he got there. He’s been awesome for me and my family. Coach Bobo’s definitely someone that I knew I would love to be around for three, four or five years. I can definitely see myself being around him and I know my parents feel the same way. I know I would feel super comfortable being around him and being coached by him.” 

Montgomery ‘couldn’t be more thrilled’ to play for Georgia

While Montgomery felt like the longtime top quarterback target for Florida and South Carolina, he acknowledged that he recently jumped to the top of the Bulldogs’ list because Royersford (Penn.) Spring-Ford four-star quarterback Matt Zollers committed to Missouri on April 4 and Carrollton (Ga.) five-star quarterback Julian Lewis has been pledged to USC since August. Yet he “couldn’t be more thrilled” to play for Georgia.

Montgomery is now the latest blue-chip recruit to join the Bulldogs’ 2025 recruiting class. The four-star “locked in” his decision to choose Georgia on Sunday night by calling Smart, Bobo and other members of the Bulldogs’ staff. 

“Stability is super hard to find in college football nowadays with all the moving parts and everything that goes on,” Montgomery said. “Coach Smart and coach Bobo, I know they’re not going anywhere. They’ve told me that they’re not going anywhere. That was definitely a pretty big factor in my decision.”