Coaches Corner: How crowded QB room could impact Gunner Stockton, Brock Vandagriff at Georgia

Georgia‘s quarterback room got a lot deeper fast as the No. 1 player in On3’s 2024 Industry Rankings Dylan Raiola committed to the Bulldogs last week. Raiola will join a quarterback room next season that could potentially consist of Carson Beck, Gunner Stockton, Brock Vandagriff, and another 2024 commit Ryan Puglisi, who all combine for a total of 22 stars according to On3’s Industry Rankings.

On3’s Josh Newberg  and Jesse Simonton discussed Georgia’s loaded quarterback room on a recent episode of ‘Coaches Corner’ and mapped out a hypothetical scenario. If Beck, Georgia’s expected starter, has an excellent year and declares for the NFL Draft, what are the odds that Stockton or Vandagriff test their luck in the transfer portal where they could be a day one starter elsewhere versus competing for Georgia’s starting job yet again in the spring?

“For Gunner, in particular, I do believe that to be the case,” Simonton said. “If Brock shows well as the backup at Georgia this year and believes that he could be the guy to lead a national championship team, he’s a local kid, played at Athens Christian, dad coaches right there in town. I think his situation is a little more unique.”

Head coach Kirby Smart seems to have an embarrassment of riches in his quarterback room, which is a great problem for any head coach on any level to have. But in college football now with the transfer portal, keeping that talent in-house could be a challenge in the future.

“Yeah I think that’s a reality in college football. I think why these kids have signed up to play for Georgia is, using Dylan Raiola’a words himself, that this is a program that’s built to sustain, it’s built to last,” Simonton explained. “And the infrastructure and foundation that Kirby Smart has established is that he’s not going to play favorites, he’s going to roll with the guy that gives him the best chance.”

Smart has also proven that he does not play favorites or care about his quarterback’s recruiting ranking once they arrive in Athens, which was shown during his second season at the helm when they made it all the way to the national championship without their day one starter.

“Jacob Eason started a bunch of games as a freshman,” Simonton said. “Gets dinged up early in his sophomore season, he was a five-star stud, one of the top prospects in his individual class and Kirby turned to Jake Fromm and said, ‘Hey, here are the keys you’re giving us the best chance to win.'”

The success of former walk-on quarterback and back-to-back national championship winner Stetson Bennett further proves Kirby’s adage of playing the best guy that will set his team up for success. And with that track record, there’s a chance that Smart could retain many of his quarterbacks in the future, as many of them could feel they could lead the team as the Bulldogs’ starter at the same time.

“He obviously benched JT Daniels, a former five-star guy that he did not sign out of high school but he brought in from USC, rolls with Stetson Bennett. When JT Daniels was more than healthy enough by the end of that first championship season to start for Georgia, he did not. He went with the guy in Stetson Bennett that gives them the best chance,” Simonton said. “So I think that’s going to be a dynamic that plays out in this quarterback room. If Brock Vandagriff is the guy that gives Georgia the best chance to win in ’24, that’s who Kirby’s going to play. If it happens to be Dylan Raiola then the five-star freshman’s going to get his shot.”