Why Ryan Puglisi? Why Georgia Was Blown Away

Georgia just landed three-star QB Ryan Puglisi. So, why is this the guy they wanted to take in this class? What blew Georgia away about the Connecticut kid.

Brooks Austin | Oct 16, 2022

The University of Georgia under head coach Kirby Smart have a pretty simple recruiting philosophy. You recruit every class independently, attempting to get the best possible players you can possibly get.

That means attempting to stack quarterbacks year after year, selecting what they believe to be the most elite prospect for their system and culture they can in each class, and they have a pretty decent run as of late.

Kirby Smart QB Commits

Jake Fromm, 2017 - 5-star
Justin Fields, 2018 - 5-star
D'Wan Mathis, 2019 - 4-star
Carson Beck, 2020 - 4-star
Brock Vandagriff, 2021 - 5-star
Gunner Stockton, 2022 - 4-star

Then in 2023, they pursued the five star of all five stars, Arch Manning. Only to lose out, respectfully, to the Texas Longhorns. Ultimately they punted on the 2023 class after striking out. So, what makes Ryan Puglisi the guy in the class of 2024?

After all, at the time of his commitment, he's currently the 359th ranked player on the 247composite, he's a consensus three-star quarterback, the 32nd ranked QB according to 247sports. So, why him?

Not that Georgia's smarter than everyone in the sport at this position, in fact, they've yet to produce a quarterback to throw for 3500 yards under Kirby Smart to date, but it hasn't been because they haven't been able to identify talent, nor will it be long at this rate. Not to mention, they aren't the only ones that ID'd Puglisi's talents. Alabama offered on spot after a workout this summer as well.

Why Georgia Was Blown Away By Ryan Puglisi

Sources indicated to Dawgs Daily that Georgia decision-makers were blown away by the workouts in camp settings from Puglisi and that he's an off-the-charts evaluation from an intangibles standpoint. This is a football player that hasn't had the resources poured into the craft that is playing the quarterback position. He's 6'3, 210 pounds, has a 70+ yard arm, and his best football is still ahead of him. He's only scratching the surface of what he will ultimately be.

Call it a gamble. Call it an investment in a player they've been smitten by with the idea of endless potential. This is selective scouting from both offensive coordinator Todd Monken and QC analyst Buster Faulkner. Faulkner, alongside Monken, has really been the driving force in what is currently an extremely stable and productive quarterback room at Georgia.

Stetson Bennett is playing his most efficient and explosive football to date, completing 70.2% of his passes for 2033 yards on 12.5 per attempt. And in typical fashion, they've controlled the schedule well enough to get the backups in several games to date. Carson Beck has flashed an in-depth knowledge of the offense and control of the system as well. All of which are signs of a quarterback room that's being developed and managed properly.

So, why Ryan Puglisi? Well, he fits the room. Really well.

Why Georgia Was Blown Away By Ryan Puglisi

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