Recruiting: Georgia looks ahead at quarterback

We don’t normally weigh in every time Georgia makes an offer to a recruit. But this is a good chance to catch up on the future – the way-ahead future – of the team’s most important position.

Camden County’s Brice Ramsey was given a scholarship offer from the Bulldogs this week. Thing is, Ramsey is a rising junior, not a senior. And it appears Georgia is pretty much skipping past the 2012 class when it comes to the game’s most important position, and eyeing the 2013 class.

That doesn’t mean Georgia won’t sign any quarterbacks next February. It could get one to provide depth, and they wouldn’t turn away a five-star stud if he fell into their lap. But it doesn’t appear that the staff is eager to invest a ton of recruiting energy into a 2012 quarterback.

The thinking is that while there are only three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, they’re all young: Aaron Murray is a redshirt sophomore, Hutson Mason is a true sophomore and Christian LeMay is a freshman.

And if the team gets in a pinch, it always has Nick Marshall. The incoming freshman is going to be a cornerback, but he played quarterback at Wilcox County, and has a pretty good arm.

Georgia is also making a calculated decision about the relative strength of each recruiting class. The top in-state quarterback for next year is Greyson Lambert of Jesup. But at this point it looks like Lambert will be going elsewhere, unless he shows up in Athens and pleads his heartfelt desire to be a Bulldog. Considering he could play somewhere else sooner, that’s not likely.

Meanwhile, the 2013 class in Georgia could have as many as five Division I quarterbacks, the experts tell me. So the Bulldogs could sign a second quarterback to guard against any depth issues, but their main target has now been revealed.

Ramsey, who is 6-foot-3 and 197 pounds, hasn’t actually started a game yet at Camden County. But the Bulldog coaches have liked what they’ve seen of Ramsey in camps and workouts.

This is also the point where it bears mention that those coaches – Mark Richt and Mike Bobo – aren’t guaranteed to even be at Georgia past 2011, much less 2013. But they have to plan ahead anyway. It’s the responsible thing to do.

Yes, they’re taking a slight risk for themselves – or whoever is coaching – by heading into next year with only three scholarship quarterbacks. But they survived last year with two, so why not?