Smart says backup QB battle behind Stockton 'not over'
Gunner Stockton has grown into the job, but Kirby Smart still won't hand out the No. 2 spot — and the best story of camp isn't at quarterback at all.
The backup quarterback job is the last thing camp didn't settle
Georgia wrapped fall camp this week and moved into game-week mode, and Kirby Smart still would not put a bow on the quarterback room. Stockton has the job, and Smart offered his strongest endorsement yet of the fifth-year starter, saying he's "improved immensely" in his command and confidence at the position, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Smart was just as blunt about the rough patches — he said after Saturday's scrimmage that Stockton "had some plays that he wished he had back," per DawgNation, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo has been pushing him to push the ball downfield more this season.
Behind him, the No. 2 job is still very much a fight. Ryan Puglisi and Bryson Beaver have both taken reps all camp, but On3 reports Ryan Montgomery turned heads in that scrimmage and is now pushing Puglisi hard for the backup spot. Smart's own description of the race, via sicemdawgs.com, was simple: "That battle's not over."
The best story out of camp isn't at quarterback at all. Freshman offensive lineman Zykie Helton lost more than 100 pounds to Crohn's disease and an H. pylori infection during his recruitment — his weight bottomed out in the low 200s while he was still playing center in high school — and Georgia stuck with him through it, telling him he could still get to 275 pounds on a college frame. He's now in line to start at right guard as a true freshman, and Smart singled out his "Fire, Passion and Energy" this week, praising the toughness it took just to get back on the field.
Last season ended on a sour note against Ole Miss
Georgia's 2025 season ran hot before it ran cold. The Dawgs blew out Texas 35-10, throttled Charlotte 35-3, handled Georgia Tech 16-9 on the road, and beat Alabama 28-7 in Tuscaloosa before finishing last season with a 39-34 loss to Ole Miss on January 2 — a finish that still stings in Athens, and the last time this roster took the field in a real game.
That's the gap this camp is closing. Stockton's growth, the backup shuffle behind him, and finds like Helton are all part of a team trying to make sure that Ole Miss loss was the last word on 2025, not a preview of anything else. Georgia opens 2026 at 0-0, with no current form to speak of — just the roster Smart has been building back up in Athens all August.
"Once a Dawg always a Dawg": a four-star safety picks Georgia over Clemson
Georgia's recruiting board got a jolt at the end of July when four-star safety Seth Williams committed to the Bulldogs, choosing them over Clemson. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety out of Atlanta gave Hayes Fawcett of Rivals the kind of line every fan base wants to hear: "Once a Dawg always a Dawg."
It's the sort of pickup that doesn't move the record or the depth chart today, but it's exactly the kind of story a Georgia fan tells a friend — a hometown talent turning down a blue blood to stay home. With Kirby Smart still working out who plays behind Stockton and how the pass rush shakes out, Williams is a name to file away for when he actually gets on campus.
The opener is a gimme on paper — Tennessee State is rebuilding from scratch
Georgia opens the season on September 5 vs. Tennessee State at Sanford Stadium, and the Tigers arrive in worse shape than the record book alone suggests. Tennessee State went 2-10 in 2025 under first-year coach Reggie Barlow, who took over after Eddie George left for Bowling Green, and closed that season with a 6-7 loss at Charleston Southern. Dozens of players left the program through the transfer portal before Barlow's staff even got to spring practice, so this is close to a from-scratch rebuild walking into the hedges.
The market has Georgia favored, with a total that reads middling rather than a track-meet number — sensible for a team that hasn't played a real game since January and is still settling its own quarterback room. It's the kind of opener built for finding things out about your own roster, not for worrying about the other sideline.