The line of fans seeking an autograph and picture with Faton Bauta on Saturday was, it was pointed out, starter-worthy.
“Whatever that means,” Bauta said, smiling sheepishly.
It remains to be seen whether Bauta, Brice Ramsey or Greyson Lambert will be Georgia’s starting quarterback this fall. But Bauta was the only one at Sanford Stadium on Saturday for the annual Countdown to Kickoff event.
Lambert was due to graduate from the University of Virginia on Saturday, and will arrive in Athens on Monday. Ramsey wasn’t seen at Saturday’s event. That left Bauta to soak up all the quarterback interest from fans, and the junior gladly signed and posed for pictures for several hours, a process Bauta called fun.
It’s the same term he used for the coming quarterback battle when preseason practice begins next month.
“It’s gonna be fun,” Bauta said. “It’s gonna be such a fun competition, and something I’ve been preparing for for God knows how long. It’s just gonna be fun. …
“I’ve got competition. Everybody else has competition around them. Every position is gonna have to compete. We’ve just gotta get 11 guys ready to play. That’s all.”
Ramsey is still seen as the slight favorite by many around the program, but Bauta seemed to glose the gap during spring practice. Jacob Park transferred a short time after Lambert announced his decision to come to Georgia.
Bauta, who graduated in May, has stayed on campus this summer, participating in player-led team workouts. Bauta declined to take credit for organizing them, just saying “a lot of the older guys have been organizing them and taking care of the business.”
“We all know what we’re trying to accomplish that day,” Bauta said of the daily workouts. “Day by day we’re talking to each other, what can we do better, how can we make this more efficient. So it’s going really well.”
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