Ranking Georgia’s best options at QB for 2025 season after Carson Beck departure

Georgia will have a different Week 1 starter at quarterback for the 2025 college football season as Carson Beck left Athens for Miami in the transfer portal earlier in the week. The Bulldogs quarterback room features Sugar Bowl starter Gunner Stockton and a pair of intriguing young arms. Here’s how we rank the Bulldogs quarterback options entering the offseason.

Stockton is Georgia’s de facto QB1 entering the offseason following Beck’s transfer to Miami. SEC legend Tim Tebow endorsed the former four-star recruit after he showed he’s “someone Georgia can build around” in the CFP loss to Notre Dame. Stockton made the first start of his career in the 23-10 loss to the Irish and completed 20 of 32 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He rushed six times for 16 yards (sack yardage excluded) and lost two fumbles. He’s got a strong arm and gives Kirby Smart a rushing threat at quarterback he’s lacked since arriving in Athens in 2016.

Don’t be surprised if Puglisi gives Stockton a real run in training camp. National scouting analysts have been high on the former four-star recruit for years. Cooper Petagna praised his “explosive arm” in 2022, and Dawgs247’s Jordan Hill reported throughout training camp that the Connecticut native “showed off” his ability to push the ball vertically. Puglisi hasn’t thrown a pass in a game for Georgia but could see the field early in relief of Stockton as the Bulldogs start the season with home games against Marshall and Austin Peay. If Stockton struggles in 2025, Puglisi will be waiting in the wings.

Not much quarterback talent remains in the transfer portal, with UNLV’s Matthew Sluka (No. 17 QB) the only top-30 quarterback yet to announce a transfer destination. Smart is likely to add an arm to the roster via the portal, but it would probably be to incease depth and competition rather than acquiring a player with surefire starting abilities. There’s always a chance a better candidate emerges in the spring window, but the top end of Georgia’s quarterback competition is all but set with Stockton and Puglisi.   

Montgomery rated as the No. 12 quarterback and No. 149 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting, and an inside source described him as a “perfect fit” in the Georgia program last offseason. He checks all the boxes for the prototypical Bulldogs quarterback. He’s tall (6-foot-3), possesses plenty of arm talent and has an elite high school pedigree. He helped Findlay (Ohio) reach the state playoffs as a junior with 3,377 passing yards and 38 touchdowns and made the Elite 11 finals as a senior. However, Smart hasn’t started a true freshman at quarterback since Jake Fromm in 2017 and Montgomery is unlikely to break that streak with the other quarterbacks ahead of him. 

RELATED (VIP): No. 1 RB in 2026 recruiting class sets date for return visit to Georgia

Georgia opens the 2025 season Aug. 30 at home against Marshall.