Georgia's 2015 Quarterback Job Still a Mystery, and That's Not a Bad Thing
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia has been spoiled by quarterbacks.
Five years ago, Aaron Murray beat out Zach Mettenberger for the starting job in Athens, which was the last time there was even a small amount of intrigue in the Georgia quarterback battle during the school's annual G-Day spring game.
Once Murray's four years of starting between the hedges ended, redshirt senior Hutson Mason slid into the top spot on the depth chart and promptly finished second in the SEC in passing efficiency (155.75) and threw just four picks.
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This spring, though, things have changed.
Junior Faton Bauta, sophomore Brice Ramsey and freshman Jacob Park all got their turns to impress the coaching staff—particularly first-year offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer—on a sun-drenched Saturday afternoon in northeast Georgia. The trio was shrouded in mystery coming in, but their play during the annual G-Day game suggests something much different.
Confidence.
Ramsey completed five of nine passes for 174 yards and one touchdown, Bauta connected on 16 of 25 passes for 171 yards and a score, and Park finished the afternoon 10-of-15 for 92 yards and an interception.
"I think it's still a race," head coach Mark Richt said after the game. "There's no question it'll go through summer and fall before we settle on one.
"Has any [QB] mastered their craft yet? No, but that's not expected."
Ramsey, who earned primary No. 2 reps last season behind Mason, was equally impressive. His 72-yard touchdown to Isaiah McKenzie was on a deep slant in which Ramsey put it right on McKenzie's numbers, and The Human Joystick took it to the house.
He then hit Reggie Davis for a 60-yard gain deep down the sideline over starting corner Malkom Parrish when the first teams were squaring off against each other early in the second half.
"I think he made some nice plays," Richt said, while conceding that he did miss some of his throws while running up to the television and radio booths during the game. "During the spring, I think he's done a very good job of studying what to do, getting us in the right protection and getting us in the right hot and sight-adjustment situations."
Bauta, who was much more known as a bruising, dual-threat quarterback in the Tim Tebow mold, showed the poise of a veteran, particularly on a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Davis. Bauta came off play action on a designed bootleg to find pressure in his face and quickly dumped it off to Davis who did the rest.
"Faton has worked extremely hard to get a comfort level with everything that coach Schottenheimer is trying to teach him," Richt said. "He got better and better as spring went along."
Park had fallen behind Ramsey and Bauta late during spring practice, but all he did when he got into the game was start out 5-of-5 before being picked off by Jarvis Wilson late in the first half.
"I think they all did well," said wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell. "They all made plays. They made some mistakes, too. But that's OK. That's what everybody did today, which gives us a chance to grow." Saturday Down South's Brad Crawford summarized the spring game's key takeaways:
Has the three-man race to win the top spot on the depth chart hurt the progress of Schottenheimer's offense? Not really.
The confidence is there, with the only missing piece being the familiarity that comes when a starter is eventually named.
"We need a lot more chemistry," Mitchell explained. "That's not bashing the chemistry we have now because we have flow, and you saw a little of that today. We got a long way to go for everybody to get on the same page, and that will be straightened out once we get that quarterback position solidified."
The strong showing from all three contenders didn't do anything to lift the veil of mystery surrounding the quarterback position, but it did raise the bar on just how good the eventual winner has to be in order to earn the nod from the coaching staff.
That's huge news for Georgia.
Bauta has the dual-threat capabilities to be a bruiser between the tackles, but he fired off a beautiful back-shoulder fade to Kenneth Towns in the first quarter to get Georgia inside the 1-yard line. It was the same kind of pass that Mason, Murray and the countless other successful quarterbacks who have played under Richt at Georgia have made famous between the hedges.
If he has that kind of passing ability on top of his running style, that'll work nicely.
For Ramsey, it was about showing command of the offense—of which he had plenty.
His arm strength was never in doubt, but making the right reads, checking down when appropriate and showing the command of the offense that a starter must have to be successful are things the staff needed to see.
They saw it—and didn't see any interceptions in the process, which was one of Richt's stated points of emphasis in the postgame press conference.
The unknown is always scary, but Georgia's spring game shed some light on the quarterback situation in Athens.
Instead of mystery, that situation is filled with promise, regardless of who ultimately wins the job.
Spring mission: accomplished.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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