Georgia’s 2026 schedule comes with a clear warning label: the Bulldogs will face a lot of quarterbacks, but only a few of them are true problems. One stands well above the rest.
That matters because Georgia’s two losses in 2025 both came against teams with elite play at quarterback. Alabama beat Georgia in the regular season, and Ole Miss knocked the Bulldogs out in the CFP, with another close call against the Rebels earlier in the year. Alabama’s Ty Simpson was a first-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams, while Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is expected to be an early first-round pick this year.
Georgia’s defense, especially against top quarterbacks, wasn’t sharp enough last season. So the question for Glenn Schumann’s group is simple: what kind of passers are waiting in 2026?
Here’s the full list of probable starting quarterbacks Georgia is set to see next season:
Sept. 5: Tennessee State - Daylin Lee
Sept. 12: Western Kentucky - Rodney Tisdale
Sept. 19: @ Arkansas - KJ Jackson
Sept. 26: Oklahoma - John Mateer
Oct. 3: Vanderbilt - Jared Curtis
Oct. 10: @ Alabama - Keelon Russell
Oct. 17: Auburn - Byrum Brown
Oct. 31: Florida - Aaron Philo
Nov. 7: @ Ole Miss - Trinidad Chambliss
Nov. 14: Missouri - Austin Simmons
Nov. 21: @ South Carolina - LaNorris Sellers
Nov. 28: Georgia Tech - Alberto Mendoza
The early stretch looks manageable. Tennessee State enters with Reggie Barlow heading into his second season after a 2-10 debut, and Lee, a transfer from Winston-Salem State, is projected to start. That opener should be more of a tune-up than a test.
Western Kentucky brings Rodney Tisdale Jr., who was pushed into the starting role after FSU transfer Brock Glenn got hurt in spring camp. Tisdale posted respectable numbers in 2025, but this doesn’t look like the kind of quarterback who should trouble Georgia.
Then comes Vanderbilt and Jared Curtis, a five-star talent who will be a true freshman. That alone makes for a steep learning curve, even if the name carries plenty of recruiting buzz. Georgia will also have a little extra edge in that one, since Curtis was once a heavy lean to Athens before choosing the payday in Nashville.
Not every quarterback on the schedule fits into the easy bucket, though. Aaron Philo is still in a battle for the job, even if he appears to have the edge.
The Georgia Tech transfer followed former Yellow Jackets offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner to Gainesville, and while he didn’t get a ton of reps at Tech, his presence adds some uncertainty. New head coach Jon Sumrall has work to do there, but quarterback may still be a soft spot.
Arkansas also brings a name worth watching in KJ Jackson. He’s still competing for the job, but his experience and a strong spring game performance put him ahead of Memphis transfer AJ Hill. A new offensive coordinator can always complicate things for an offense, but Georgia can’t afford to dismiss Jackson.
Alberto Mendoza is another quarterback whose stock is tied to coaching and development. He transferred to Georgia Tech from Indiana after the Hoosiers’ fairytale national championship season and benefited from the same coaching that helped his older brother, Heisman Trophy winner Ferando Mendoza. Georgia Tech has been closing the gap under Brent Key, and Mendoza could be the kind of quarterback who helps push the Jackets over the top in the ACC.
The real danger starts to show up in the next group.
Keelon Russell has only appeared in two games for Alabama, but that’s almost beside the point. The Tide have a long track record of sliding a new quarterback into place without much drop-off, and Kalen DeBoer has already shown he knows how to pick, use, and coach the position. Russell may end up being just as good as Ty Simpson, if not better.
Byrum Brown is another quarterback Georgia should respect. It might take some getting used to seeing a good quarterback in an Auburn uniform, but Brown has already put up eye-catching numbers in two healthy seasons at USF despite limited talent around him. First-year Auburn coach Alex Golesh still has a lot to fix, but bringing Brown with him from South Florida was a smart first step.
Austin Simmons is a major concern for Missouri. He was on track to become an elite quarterback at Ole Miss before a bad ankle injury in Week 2 last season opened the door for Chambliss.
Once Chambliss got the job, he kept it. Simmons brings experience and talent to Eli Drinkwitz’s offense, and that should worry the rest of the SEC.
And then there’s the top of the list.
LaNorris Sellers is the kind of quarterback who can take over a game and drag a team across the finish line. Even with Shane Beamer’s job situation under pressure, South Carolina has a dangerous weapon under center.
Sellers is a true dual-threat threat, and Georgia will have to be disciplined to keep him from getting loose and turning plays into chunk gains. That one has the feel of a late-season trap.
John Mateer may be the toughest single matchup on the schedule outside of Chambliss. The only question is which version Georgia gets.
Mateer dealt with a broken bone and torn thumb in his throwing hand after the Auburn game last year, and his numbers improved as he healed. With what Brent Venables has built around him, Oklahoma could end up being Georgia’s hardest game of the year.
Still, the clear headliner is Chambliss. Georgia saw him twice last season, and he made the Bulldogs pay both times.
In those two games, he threw for 625 yards and accounted for five total touchdowns. In the CFP matchup, he shredded Georgia’s secondary.
That makes the Nov. 7 trip to Oxford the most daunting quarterback test on the schedule. Georgia will have to navigate a few unknowns and a handful of dangerous starters, but no one on the list looms larger than Trinidad Chambliss.
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