So, Mark Richt popped up on Finebaum’s show the other day to talk about his quarterback situation going into the spring (pro tip for PAWWWLLL: getting the name of last year’s starter wrong really undercuts that air of gravitas you’re trying so hard to project) and had this to say:
“We’ve got three guys right now on scholarship that are going to be battling away for that job,” Richt said Wednesday on the “Paul Finebaum Show” on the SEC Network. “I don’t really see a frontrunner right now. I see three guys that have a lot of talent, that have a lot of competitive spirit about them. I think it’s going to be a great competition.”
In other words, not too much.
Weiszer goes on to summarize the current situation well. You’d think it’s Ramsey’s job to lose. You’d also think if Ramsey doesn’t show out better in the spring than he did in the Belk Bowl, he will indeed lose it. And having a new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach doing the assessing and breaking in is clearly the X-factor. So it’s understandable that Richt’s a little foggy about who’s going to be the man.
But more than worrying about who wins the job, I just hope that one of the three does win it in the spring. (Insert your G-Day joke here.) Seriously, this would not be ideal:
The quarterback battle could roll into August or maybe even September. Georgia doesn’t open this season with Clemson and South Carolina. It opens on Sept. 5 against Louisiana-Monroe followed by Vanderbilt. If it’s a close call on who should be the starter, perhaps it will be decided in an actual game.
They need to be building rapport, timing and leadership at the position sooner than later. The longer they have to put that off because of a quarterback battle that extends into the season, the greater the likelihood that the offense is more disjointed than we’ve been used to seeing.
Get The Picture 
The faster it’s settled the better it’s settled. Having a named starter will boost his confidence and allow him to focus on the game. I see no upside to delaying the decision…
But if they should all be equally good…do you go with the senior guy out of a sense of fairness, or with the junior guy to establish future continuity?
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Yeah, and I have no inside info, never seen a practice, or anything like that…..but I have a suspicion that the longer the decision drags out, the more likely Park ends up being the guy. If the decision is made in the spring, I think it will be because Ramsey stepped up and took control.
(I’m not advocating for either, I’m sure Schotty/Richt will make the best call).
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Reading tea leaves…
Park is going to get every chance. Ramsey couldn’t beat out Hutson and he didn’t look great in the Belk Bowl.
It’s probably going to come down to who is the best game manager.
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I don’t thing the fact that Ramsey didn’t beat out Mason has much bearing on the current situation. There was a large experience difference between them, and Mason took a late redshirt to allow him to be the QB his senior year. The job really was his to lose.
Having said all of that, I fully expect Schottenheimer to take his sweet time evaluating them. I have no idea who will win. I would think Ramsey has a small advantage, but that’s just a wild guess.
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Schotty being a “pro” guy, how much do you think arm strength will play into the decision? Methinks a lot.
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I assume it will be a big factor, but it won’t outshine all the others. If Ramsey spends most of his spring practice and fall camp making the wrong decisions and throwing the ball to the defense, his arm won’t save him.
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Yep. Hopefully Schotty learned the lesson of Jeff George.
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I never thought of Chad Pennington, Mark Sanchez nor Sam Bradford as having arm strength……
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And I hope the losers don’t transfer.
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I agree with picking one soon. I think either Ramsey or Bauta would do fine. I haven’t seen the other guy. I actually thought Bauta looked a little better especially running, but would rather just pick one and have him hand off.
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I’m wit u Russ.
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For whatever reason, I just don’t think Bauta will be a real factor. I don’t have much of a logical defense of that opinion, but that’s never stopped me before. 😉
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“I don’t have much of a logical defense of that opinion, but that’s never stopped me before.”
I’m going to make this into a bumper sticker and slap it on my wife’s car.
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Well done
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Let them compete long and hard before announcing a starter. If you announce a starter after spring practice it leaves the door open for the other two to get recruited elsewhere and the announced starter to get complacent. Mid August is soon enough. The QBs, team and coaches will likely have a feel before fans and the media demand to be told.
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LSU in 2014 was a template. That didn’t go well.
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Doesn’t look good for Park. Head Coach just blanked on the dude’s name.
“Well we’ve got ah Faton Bauta, we’ve got ah Brice, uhhh… we’ve got um…we’ve got um…Jacob silence uhh…Park”
Mark Richt cracks me up.
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The best thing that could happen is for Richt to stay out of it and let somebody that knows what he is doing decide. In fact, Richt ought to turn the coaching responsibilities over to Pruitt and go sit in a corner until the season ends. That’s the best way to help matters. What was that Tech score?
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No.
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CMR has lost control of NoAxeToGrind grinding on him.
Seems CMR chose Green, Shockly, Murray and Mason…pretty good run there, IMHO.
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What was that Tech score again?
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FYI, there is a rumor floating around that Jacob Eason is going to visit Michigan. I thought it would take seeing a Schottenheimer offense to get him to take that step, but I guess not.
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I know Harbaugh’s been chasing him. But there are also rumors floating around that Eason is actively recruiting other kids in his class to come with him to Georgia.
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It’s no rumor, he is actively recruiting kids to Georgia. He and Ben Cleveland seem as solid as 17/18 years can possibly be committed.
I’ll give Ramsey a little bit of a break in the Belk Bowl seeing as that Ramsey had a sty in his eye that day and could hardly see out of that eye. I agree with the idea that the longer it goes, the better chance that it’s Park in the end.
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Some of those throws Ramsey made were incredible. He just needs a little polishing and experience.
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Ohio State did not seem to have trouble changing quarterbacks. This is also the first time in many years where the new quarterback is going to have a mature offensive line and stud running back. I don’t think it will be the end of the world if we find our starter in the first game.
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Not so fast my friends. I am in the camp of not rushing this decision unless there is simply a no-brainer, slam dunk winner in Spring and would actually prefer an August timetable. We have three contenders one of whom has never worked with our offense at all, much less taken a single game snap. The other two have between a handful of snaps and a few dozen. Not near enough data to make a call on a key position that will impact us for at least two years. This is especially premature with a new OC arriving in just 2 months ago.
Naming a starter/winner in early April will encourage at least one of them to look around and transfer before fall camp begins, reducing our depth significantly. All the hype of Eason’s potential impact, IF he actually signs with UGA, will fuel the likelihood that someone will leave for a better opportunity to play. As much as we would love to know the name of our savior at QB so we could all rest easier during the off season it could be the worst thing that happens. Buried in this outcome is the possibility that a clear cut winner may not be due to one of them being that great, but a shortfall of the other two. Then we would have a mediocre QB going into the season and, perhaps, only one that could improve enough to be of some help. I like having them battle it into mid-August and each having time to develop under the new OC, even if that development takes an extra 4-5 months. Of course, the fans will all know by the end of G Day’s game and a new QB will be anointed regardless of what the coaches see during Spring and Summer practice.
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I agree. Narrow it down to the top two and get both of them a bunch of reps, including the first two games.
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Mac, I like yer plan, seems as though that opener would be a great time to see all three guys, then maybe down to two for Vandy. Who knows, maybe one of the three likes to go to Lowndes County on spring break.
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