Kirby Smart praises four-star quarterback Ryan Puglisi after making signing official

Kirby Smart had some praise to heap on four-star quarterback recruit Ryan Puglisi after he officially committed to the Georgia Bulldogs.

It’s been a fascinating couple of weeks for Georgia’s quarterback room. Former top recruit Brock Vandagriff transferred to Kentucky, Carson Beck decided to return for 2024 and Dylan Raiola flipped to Nebraska.

Nevertheless, Puglisi is headed to Athens, and Smart took some time to rave about his potential when joining SEC Network on Wednesday afternoon.

“Ryan’s a tremendous young man. Great family. They’ve been committed throughout the process,” Smart said. “They’ve known all along that we’ve got a quarterback deficit in that room, with three guys on scholarship going into next year. So they know that we’re always looking to upgrade and get good players, and he’s one of them.

“So he’s going to come in, develop. He’s committed to that. High level guy. Been great in practice so far, and fun to watch.”

Puglisi joins the Bulldogs as the nation’s No. 142 overall prospect and No. 9 quarterback in the On3 Industry Rankings. The 6-foot-2 and a half, 200 pound product of Avon, Connecticut’s Avon Old Farms had been committed to the Bulldogs since October of 2022.

As you can see, Kirby Smart is elated at the thought of Ryan Puglisi in Athens, and the future is bright for them both.

More on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, decision to return for 2024

Moreover, Carson Beck made his decision on the 2024 NFL Draft last week, officially deciding to return to Athens for the 2024 season.

Beck played the past four seasons with the Bulldogs but spent most of that time as a backup to Stetson Bennett. He won national titles with the team in 2021 and 2022, even seeing game action in a rout of TCU in last season’s championship. 

With Bennett graduating, Beck stepped into a starting role for the first time in 2023. He put up impressive numbers to throw for 3,738 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions with a completion percentage of 72.8%. He earned second team All-SEC honors for his performance and was a finalist for the Manning Award. 

Georgia finished out the regular season undefeated as Beck helped it to extend its SEC-record winning streak to 29 games. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs would go on to lose to Alabama in the conference championship game. They missed out on the College Football Playoff as a result, crushing hopes of winning a third straight national title. 

It was a disappointing end to a season that Beck should otherwise be proud of. He proved himself among the best quarterbacks in the country and can now look forward to what the future holds in 2024.