Predicting the Winners of College Football’s QB Competitions

It’s the second year in a row that the Georgia Bulldogs have had to replace a departed senior starter at quarterback, though the two situations couldn’t be more different.

Hutson Mason was the unquestioned signal caller for the 2014 season even before he took over for the injured Aaron Murray partway through the Kentucky game in 2013. Mason was a rising senior leader that had patiently waited in Murray’s shadow for four seasons and the coaching staff felt strong enough about him to name him the starter before spring practice began.

This time around, three far less experienced QBs – Brice Ramsey, Faton Bauta and Jacob Park – competed with one another through spring practice and will continue to do so in the fall.

Ramsey played in six games last season as Mason’s primary backup as a redshirt freshman and completed 24 of 39 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. The favorite entering the spring, Ramsey failed to snatch the job away from junior Faton Bauta – who completed four of five passes for 48 yards in three appearances last season.

The pair split first-team reps this spring and during the G-Day spring game. Ramsey connected on five of nine attempts for 174 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown, in the scrimmage. Batua was 16-for-25 for 171 yards and a 25-yard TD. Park, the obvious third-stringer at the moment, was 10-for-15 for 92 yards and an interception leading the twos.

Whoever wins the job may only be keeping the place warm for Jacob Eason, a Georgia commit ranked among the nation’s best in the 2016 recruiting class. Eason, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound pro-style QB from Washington, has a chance to be the highest rated signal caller in Athens since Matthew Stafford.

Next: UCLA