Why intrigue around a big 3 has grown in Georgia’s pursuit of quarterback for Class of 2026

The other options for the Dogs now seem less complicated. And also less expensive.

That became clear Sunday afternoon when Bentley dropped his final three of Georgia, Oklahoma, and LSU. Bentley processed that quickly after visiting LSU on March 15 and UGA on March 20.

The Texas native also announced official visits to those schools June 6 (UGA), June 13 (Oklahoma), and June 20 (LSU), respectively.

That, according to our intel at this time, is a good thing for Georgia. There’s a growing belief here that if Bentley takes that trip to UGA on June 6, the Dogs likely won’t let him leave until he’s the “guy” for 2026.

Well, that is unless Curtis chooses UGA on May 5; then Bentley never will take that official visit. Curtis will have reduced his final three to a final two.

The way the cards land today, there’s the feeling Georgia will wind up with either the fast-rising Bentley or Curtis.

Curtis, the prodigal prospect, would return to the program that’s closest to home and the one he was committed to. If not, Bentley would come from way out of the pack to earn the nod in this class.

DawgNation has learned the No. 1 thing Bentley is looking for is the chance to win a national championship. Not NIL. Not a depth chart with some easy clears. He wants to win and win big.

But that’s getting the tomahawk steak out ahead of the appetizers. That doesn’t properly set the stage on all the moving pieces of the 2026 QB soap opera for the Dogs.

Why will this timeline extend longer than Georgia traditionally likes to lock down its QB pick every cycle? Why could Bentley wind up as just as good of a fit as Curtis? What does Georgia need to do to really move the needle with Duckworth?

We’ll dive into all of those below.

Jared Curtis, Bowe Bentley, Landon Duckworth timelines

Curtis, Bentley and Duckworth.

Here’s a brisk glance at how that law firm of prospects stacks up, aside from the fact that each of them led their high school teams to state championships as juniors:

5-star Jared Curtis/Nashville Christian/Nashville, Tenn.

Georgia offered on: Jan. 20, 2023

The fast read: The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Curtis is the nation’s No. 1 QB and the No. 2 overall prospect on the 247Sports Composite. He completed 70% of his passes for 40 touchdowns with only three interceptions. He threw for 2,830 yards while displaying elite arm talent and the ability to place the ball all over the field.

The early enrollee lets it loose from a variety of arm angles. The other wrinkle to his game is that he ran for 637 yards and 18 touchdowns last fall.

Pros: The arm talent is extraordinary even for 5-stars every cycle. He’s not a true dual-threat, but he shows enough speed in his legs and power in his thighs to be hard to deal with. Especially in the red zone. He has future No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick potential.

Cons: This is no slight to his ability, but the price tag will be costly in the revenue share era. Curtis will be the most expensive remaining undecided recruit in this class. The only knock is that he hasn’t faced strong high school competition. As an example, future GHSA Class 1A state champ Prince Avenue Christian beat Nashville Christian 42-0 back when Curtis was a sophomore in 2023.

4-star Landon Duckworth/Jackson HS/Jackson, Ala.

Georgia offered on: Jan. 8, 2025

The quick read: The 6-foot-4, 197-pound Duckworth is the nation’s No. 6 QB and the No. 53 overall prospect on the 247Sports Composite. He completed 66% of his passes for 3,439 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions as a junior. Duckworth also rolled for 10.5 yards per carry on his way to 648 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

Duckworth has his official visit set for May 30. The Curtis decision will also have been made by then, so there’s the real possibility he also never takes that official visit to Athens.

Pros: Duckworth will be a 4-year starter this fall. The skills and tools also show first- or second-round NFL draft pick potential. He was clocked at a 4.65 laser in the 40 at the Elite 11 Atlanta regional this weekend and is a true dual-threat. Duckworth also looks to have tightened up his throwing motion from his junior tape.

His athletic resume is vast. “Duck” was a high-flyer and a repeat state basketball champ this winter and was also a member of the school’s state championship 4X100 meter relay team. He doesn’t run the sprints. Just the relays. He’s gone 26-2 over his last two seasons as the starter at Jackson.

Cons: While he plays in a tougher classification than Curtis in Class 2A, it is four classes away from the top classification in Alabama. Duckworth will need a redshirt year before he’s ready in the SEC. The real “con” for UGA’s chances is that he hasn’t felt like a priority. Ole Miss clearly has made it known that he’s their guy. Georgia’s Mike Bobo went to see him play a couple of basketball games this winter, but Ole Miss has been recruiting him harder. It would be hard to look at it any other way, given Curtis got his offer from UGA almost two full years before Duckworth.

Ole Miss is his leader. He makes that clear. But he told DawgNation on Sunday that if Georgia pressed for him the way that Ole Miss has, he’d really have something to think about.

4-star Bowe Bentley/Celinas/Celinas, Texas

Georgia offered on: Feb. 26, 2025

The quick read: The 6-foot-2-plus, 205-pound Bentley has exploded onto the scene of late. His rankings have shot up as he didn’t even start at QB for the varsity until his junior year. The former four-sport ATH didn’t even become a top 250 overall recruit in the class until late last fall. He’d been a receiver, a free safety, and a kickoff return man (multiple return TDs) up to that point in 4A football. He’s currently rated as the nation’s No. 10 QB and the No. 123 overall prospect. He should be a lot higher than that. On3.com has moved him to the No. 5 QB nationally on its isolated ranking. That tracks with what we see on tape.

Bentley threw for 3,211 yards en route to a 16-0 season in 2024. He stacked up 47 TDs to seven interceptions. The 4-star also had 923 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. While he didn’t get his offer from the Dawgs until last month, he had been in contact with UGA for an extended period before that.

Pros: Given the level he plays at and the way he’s getting to his second and third reads on his tape, he projects to have the quickest transition of the three to the SEC. He’s also playing under center and in the gun in spread sets. Bentley has never lost a game as a starting QB for Celinas at any level, even though last year was his first as a starter. He also held his own at the 2025 Navy All-American Bowl in Texas in January.

Bentley does not have the highest NFL ceiling of the three prospects, but the opinion here is that he clearly has the highest floor. His game film reflects a mature and talented weapon that’s doing things on tape that college freshmen and sophomore QBs haven’t yet assimilated into their game. This was just in his first year as a starter.

Cons: Here’s the one thing going around the nation about Bentley: If he was only a little taller, he already would be rated as one of the top three QBs in the nation for this cycle. Perhaps the only other knock here for the Dogs with Bentley is that they haven’t built much of a relationship to this point. Not yet. Oklahoma was seen as an early team to watch for Bentley before his stock really took off in late January.