Insider predicts dire Carson Beck-like outcome for Gunner Stockton if Kirby Smart names Jared Curtis QB1

Landing the top QB in the country is usually a thing to celebrate as a momentous recruiting victory for most programs.

But not for Georgia. 

Things took a complicated turn in Athens after the top QB of the class of 2026, Jared Curtis, committed to the Bulldogs. The imminent looming question over head coach Kirby Smart is who to name the starter. Whoever is Smart's choice will come with an ugly future for the other.

USA Today's Matt Hayes explains how "the Bulldogs and five-star quarterbacks is an ugly adventure."

"His [Curtis's] commitment leads to another unavoidable reality in the process: if need be, can he (and Georgia) be patient? If Gunner Stockton plays well as the Georgia starter in 2025, Curtis may not get on the field in 2026. In other words, one of Georgia’s highest-paid revenue share players will be standing on the sideline," Hayes wrote.

"Beginning July 1 when revenue sharing is projected to begin in college sports, college football will deal with similar problems faced in the NFL: can a team afford to sit a player whose contract is among the richest on the team? The argument can be made that if Stockton is still the Georgia quarterback in 2026, he, too, will be among the highest-paid players on the roster. But teams can’t afford that much money invested in one position room.

"That could lead to an uncomfortable decision, which will no doubt be based on Stockton’s play in 2025. If he plays well, Georgia will be forced to pay him more than Curtis — or Stockton will leave.

"If that sounds like Stetson Bennett IV and/or Carson Beck, it should."

If Stockton leaves, it would be another Carson Beck-like storyline in 2026. That said, Curtis may wait around one year to get the starting position, then he may potentially move on from Georgia, too, given that Smart decides to stick with Stockton.

The Bulldogs staff would also have Ryan Puglisi, who will have two years in the system before Curtis comes in 2026, also on the lookout to snag the QB1.

That said, "five-star quarterbacks simply can’t beat out lower-level recruits," as Hayes explains.

Either way, the program will sustain a hit.