ATHENS — Georgia quarterback Ryan Puglisi always has been a little different from his peers.
His recruitment showcased that. Even with Dylan Raiola committed to Georgia, Puglisi remained committed as well. He was undeterred by the higher-rated Raiola, and Puglisi picked Georgia first.
When Raiola flipped at the 11th hour to Nebraska, the value of Puglisi only increased for Georgia, as it was not left empty-handed in the 2024 recruiting class as it ultimately has been in the 2026 class when Jared Curtis flipped to Vanderbilt.
Raiola is back in the news this week, as he plans to enter the transfer portal after two seasons at Nebraska. The instant gratification that came from starting as a freshman did not pay off. Even worse, Raiola suffered a season-ending broken fibula for Nebraska. His next steps are uncertain.
Puglisi has been content to sit, learn and wait at Georgia. In doing so, he remains an outlier among his contemporaries. Of the top 10 quarterbacks in the 2024 recruiting class per the 247Sports Composite rankings, Puglisi is one of three quarterbacks who still plays for the school he signed with. Julian Sayin, DJ Lagway, Air Noland and others all left for other schools.
Of the three who remained — Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Penn State’s Ethan Grunkemeyer being the other two — Puglisi is the only one who has yet to start a game.
To this point, Puglisi’s track hasn’t been all that different from the Georgia quarterbacks who came before him. Carson Beck didn’t start until the first game of his fourth season at Georgia. Gunner Stockton’s starting debut came in the final game of his third season.
Puglisi knew what he signed up for when he arrived at Georgia. It helped his path that Georgia did not take a quarterback in the 2023 recruiting cycle. With Curtis now at Vanderbilt, Georgia also did not take a high school quarterback in the 2026 class either.
“You have plans in place,” Smart said of recruiting quarterbacks, after Curtis signed with Vanderbilt. “We talked all along multiple years. It’s not like it’s surprising. I don’t think that changes how you recruit. I think you still recruit the same way you recruit. You just make sure you have a plan in place if it happens.”
That leaves Puglisi, Stockton, Ryan Montgomery and Hezekiah Millender as Georgia’s projected quarterbacks for 2026. Stockton could declare for the NFL draft, but that seems highly unlikely. But next season will be Stockton’s last with collegiate eligibility.
Puglisi, meanwhile, has three seasons left after this season concludes. He emerged as Georgia’s top backup quarterback and earned playing time in seven games this season. He completed 16 of his 27 pass attempts, including a touchdown in the season-opening win over Marshall.
He has been intercepted twice, though one of those came on a Hail Mary attempt against Tennessee. The other was an errant throw against Kentucky.
Puglisi earned considerable playing time in Georgia’s 35-3 win over Charlotte. Puglisi’s numbers would have looked better had he not suffered some untimely drops, as he was 7-of-11 passing for 49 yards.
Perhaps most encouraging this season was that Puglisi showed a willingness to run. The redshirt freshman always has been praised for his arm talent, but he showed he’s a capable athlete as well. Even if he does not project to be the same willing runner that Stockton has been this season.
As for what’s next for Puglisi, there is the transfer portal if he were to look to leave. The transfer portal opens Jan. 2, and Puglisi could use it if he is looking to play elsewhere quickly. It would make little sense for Puglisi to enter the transfer portal before Georgia’s season ends.
Stockton showed last year that Puglisi is one play from seeing the field.
“(Georgia’s) quarterback coaches do a tremendous job of putting those guys on the board, asking them questions. They get reps,” Smart said of Puglisi and Montgomery. “They don’t get as many reps as Gunner, and I think that would be the case all across the country is how well do those guys prepare because you never know, you know, when your number is going to be called.”
With Curtis no longer a projected member of the Georgia football program, the competition to replace Stockton in 2027 is, at the moment, less crowded. Georgia always could add someone through the transfer portal, but it opted not to do so last year when it had Stockton. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who won this season’s Heisman Trophy, was an option for Georgia, for example.
Yet Georgia elected to believe in Stockton, who finished seventh in Heisman voting this month. That belief paid off for the Bulldogs, who went 12-1 and won the SEC.
Puglisi hopes that his own belief in Georgia brings forth similar success for both the player and program. As he’s already shown, Puglisi has no problem waiting for it. He’s willing to walk a path none of his fellow 2024 quarterbacks to this point have wanted to.
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