RICHT'S PICK: Greyson Lambert gets nod as starting QB to open Bulldogs' season
Georgia's preseason quarterback competition is over.
Following Monday's practice, Georgia coach Mark Richt announced that Virginia transfer Greyson Lambert will open the season as Georgia's starter. Lambert beat out Brice Ramsey and Faton Bauta in a competition that has been going on since the offseason.
Richt said the quarterback battle was close through the end.
"All this time, you probably thought I was being coy about it," Richt said. "I really didn't know. It was very close. Even this decision, it was a close decision to name him a starter. I think they can all get us in the right plays, I think they can all get us in the right protections. I think they can function extremely well."
Richt said there's still a chance more than one quarterback plays in the first half in Saturday's season opener against Louisiana-Monroe, but that it was important to name a starter so the rest of the team could focus on playing football.
Lambert spent his previous three seasons at Virginia and saw time as a starter in 16 games. In that span, he threw for 1,972 yards, 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. After losing the starting job at Virginia this past spring, in which the Cavaliers went 5-7, Lambert decided to leave the school.
He has two years of eligibility remaining at Georgia.
"I know Greyson has played a lot of football and he has started games," senior offensive tackle John Theus said. "I don't know if I've ever watched a single down of Virginia football, but he came into Georgia and busted his butt. I think he got into the playbook, got a great understanding of coach Schottenheimer's playbook, really got in it, made some great plays and showed what he was
capable of."
Richt said he and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer were set on Lambert this past Saturday but decided to take the rest of the weekend before finalizing it.
"We were pretty sure Saturday but then this morning we talked about it one last time," Richt said. "We said we'd sleep on it and think about it some more and decide what to do. That's what we did."
The competition was close enough that even the players had no idea who the starter would be. Theus added that if he were a "betting man" he would have guessed the Bulldogs would head into Saturday's season opener without naming the starter.
"Honestly I had no idea. I had my parents, everybody asking me," Theus said. "One day at practice I had Leonard Floyd ask me, 'Who's going to be the quarterback?' I'm like, 'Leonard, I ain't got no idea, man,' and that's Leonard, so if I had an inclination I'd tell him. I seriously had no idea. That's what they pay the coaches to do, make tough decisions."
Lambert received first-team reps during Monday's practice, with Ramsey and Bauta, respectively, behind him. Richt said Schottenheimer told the quarterbacks in a Monday meeting that Lambert was named the starter. Through the second preseason scrimmage, each quarterback received an equal number of reps during practices. Bauta started the preseason with the first team, with Ramsey second and Lambert third.
After a rough first practice on Aug. 4, Lambert rebounded and put in a preseason worthy of winning the starting job.
"I think all of those guys were great candidates and I have confidence in every single one of them," outside linebacker Davin Bellamy said. "They had a great fall camp and I'm excited to see them play."
Richt told the rest of the team of his decision after Monday's practice. Theus said that he was not around the quarterbacks when Richt made the announcement and he didn't know how Ramsey took the news.
Lambert will not be made available to meet with reporters during today's media availability.
Richt said this was one of the tougher decisions he's had to make as a head coach.
"It is such a big deal. It's a big position," Richt said. "You roll guys in and out all the time and don't think twice about it, just about every other position on the field you can do that. Quarterback, people tend not to do that for good reason. It's a tough decision because they're all extremely hard workers, they're smart, they're all capable, they're all talented. It was a battle that didn't define itself. No one really pulled away, and I can't sit here and say Greyson just pulled away from the pack. They were all doing it well in our opinion.
"But (Lambert) got the nod."
This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 10:53 PM with the headline "RICHT'S PICK: Greyson Lambert gets nod as starting QB to open Bulldogs' season ."