Ryan Puglisi Believes Georgia QB Competition Is Real: That He Win Win It
ATHENS — Ryan Puglisi doesn’t fear competition. He came to Georgia knowing he would eventually find himself in one.
That’s the case this spring, even if said battle appears to be fought in an uphill fashion as he tries to take down Gunner Stockton.
“No matter what at Georgia, no matter who you are, no matter where you are on the depth chart, you’re always going to compete,” Puglisi told reporters on Tuesday night. “I think you’re competing with yourself every day as well. You know, just trying to be better than you were yesterday and putting your head down and going to work every single day, no matter where you are on the depth chart.”
Puglisi is entering his second season at Georgia. It’s his first real spring as he dealt with a knee injury. Saturday will be the first G-Day he plays in. By comparison, it’s Stockton’s fourth at Georgia.
Still, Puglisi believes he can win Georgia’s quarterback competition.
“I could right now, definitely,” Puglisi said when asked if he could be Georgia’s starting quarterback. “I think if you’re in the quarterback position, and you don’t believe that you can go play, you should probably do something else because you need some confidence.”
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Puglisi knows he has to be ready to meet the moment. That nearly came last December, when Stockton’s helmet went flying during overtime of Georgia’s SEC Championship game win over Texas.
Stockton would have to miss at least one play due to the helmet ejecting itself from Stockton’s head. Puglisi, who entered the game as Georgia’s third-string quarterback, had to quickly compose himself in what had been to that point Georgia’s biggest game of the season.
But during a review process, Georgia felt it was best to substitute an injured Beck into a game, as opposed to someone who had never thrown a pass in a collegiate game.
Beck gave the ball to Trevor Etienne for the winning score but Puglisi learned a lot from that whirlwind experience.
“You’ve got to be able to do it no matter how hard it is or whether you think you’re going to get in the game or not,” Puglisi said. “So I think no matter who you’re playing, whether it’s Texas, Alabama, or someone else, you’ve got to be able to get ready wherever you are on the depth chart to go out there and play.”
Puglisi has become a popular player this spring. Part of that is due to his ascension up the depth chart following Beck’s departure.
Kirby Smart and Puglisi both understand this leads to a greater push from external forces to see Puglisi take the reins at quarterback. Stockton, with all of his 86 career pass attempts, is a more known entity than Puglisi.
