Georgia QB room enters category where 'system' isn't a question
Georgia’s quarterback room – both of the present and the future – is on the forefront of just about everybody’s minds in Athens these days.
On Monday, 2024 five-star-plus quarterback Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 overall player in the country according to the On3 Industry Ranking, announced his commitment to the Bulldogs. He joins another talented quarterback in the class already – Ryan Puglisi.
Then, on Tuesday morning, attention quickly turned back to the present as ESPN’s David Hale released a breakdown of the quarterback situations for all 133 FBS programs by tiers. Georgia’s, as you might expect, is near the top and creates tons of conversation.
“Both Georgia and Penn State are moving on from QBs who won a lot of games but spent most of their careers dodging criticism from fans. So, will their successors with more recruiting pedigree actually win as much?,” Hale wrote on Georgia’s (and Penn State’s) quarterback situation in a Tier 3 titled, ‘Never question the system’ alongside Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Tennessee.
“(Drew) Allar is exceptionally talented, and will share a backfield with two of the best runners in the country. (Carson) Beck appeared to secure the Georgia job this spring, and he certainly looks the part a bit more than Stetson Bennett did. Allar and Beck may well have better NFL evaluations when it’s all said and done, but the bar for wins and losses in college will be awfully high.”
Forget about Penn State’s situation. After all, this is DawgsHQ. If you’re looking for more on the Nittany Lions, you’re in the wrong spot.
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Hale listed Carson Beck alongside Brock Vandagriff when introducing the Georgia quarterback situation. That’s fair to do with an ongoing competition, but as he noted, Beck appeared to be the favorite to start this fall coming out of spring practice.
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A former four-star out of Mandarin (Jacksonville) High School, Beck has waited his turn. He thought he might get a shot in 2021 when JT Daniels went down with an injury early in the season, but Stetson Bennett ended up starting against UAB, threw five touchdowns in the first half and the rest was history.
However, with Bennett gone, it’s Beck’s job to lose. He threw for 211 yards on 13-of-18 passing with a touchdown in the first half of the spring game, working with the first-team. In total, Beck ended with 231 yards as he added another 20 yards to his total in the second half, getting limited reps with the second team.
It was a strong statement. Beck and Vandagriff were spoken about in the same sentence all the way through spring practice. Now, just a month after G-Day, Vandagriff is a bit of an afterthought.
That’s not a knock on Vandagriff. He’s incredibly talented in his own right. However, as Hale indicates, Beck’s performance in front of the public eye certainly has him ahead.
Vandagriff isn’t out of it. He decided to stick around as opposed to entering the transfer portal after the spring. Kirby Smart will want the competition between him and Beck to continue – just as he will when Raiola and Puglisi get on campus next spring likely as early enrollees. No matter what way it goes though, Hale believes the Bulldogs belong in the ‘Never question the system’ tier, not too terrible of a place to be when replacing a starting quarterback.
