Passing attack, defense highlight Georgia’s G-Day game | PHOTO GALLERY

ATHENS — With the running game already known to be in the capable hands — and legs — of the likes of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, much of the offensive focus of Georgia’s annual G-Day spring scrimmage was in the air, and specifically the candidates for the starting quarterback job in the fall.

Those candidates, particularly junior Faton Bauta, had their moments, though it was the defense that had primary control in the Black team’s 24-17 victory over the Red team before an announced crowd of 46,815 Saturday at Sanford Stadium.

“Georgia won (Saturday), which was good,” Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt joked. “It’s so hard to try to judge what kind of a day a it was when you’re going Georgia against Georgia. … It’s a lot of guys getting a lot of reps.

“When things were executed offensively, it was pretty good to watch, no doubt. Defensively, I though the guys, for the most part, played well together as a unit. They tackled well, had some good balls batted down at the line of scrimmage. … It’s one of those days where until you watch the film, you can’t really judge who did what to a certain degree.”

Michel did not play while nursing a shoulder injury, while Chubb had only three carries on the day for 34 yards, one of them a 17-yard touchdown, and caught three passes for 23 yards.

A.J. Turman got the most work on the ground, running 26 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns, including a 52-yard scoring dash.

But make no mistake, most eyes were on the passing game, and particularly, the quarterbacks.

“Oh, we’re going to run the ball. We’re going to throw it, too,” Richt said. “We’ve got some good backs, and we’re serious about running and play-action passing. We want people to know we can get physical.”

And whether Bauta or Ramsey, who spent most of the afternoon rotating running the first-team offense, had the better day throwing the ball depends on one’s point of view.

From a big-play standpoint, Ramsey clearly had the advantage by connecting on completions of 72 yards to Isaiah McKenzie and 60 yards to Reggie Davis — the former for a touchdown — on his way to a 5 of 9 day for 174 yards and a TD.

From a consistency standpoint, Bauta had the better of the afternoon, completing 19 of 31 passes for 171 yards and a score.

“It’s still a race,” Richt said. “I don’t think there’s any question that it will go through the summer and fall before we make that decision on who will start the first ball game.

“I would hope to (be able) say, ‘This is the guy,’ going into the very first ball game. … There’s a possibility that could happen, and I’d say this, too. Whoever wins the job will have to start playing and proving it’s a good decision.”

Bauta had the better first possession of the game, leading the Black team to a score after a three-and-out by the Ramsey-led Red team due in no small part to a shotgun snap that sailed over the head of the redshirt sophomore and was blown dead at the 2-yard line.

Bauta first converted a fourth-down pass to tight end Jordan Davis to keep the drive alive, and then fired a strike into Kenneth Towns to set his team up at the Red 1.

That’s where Turman barreled into the end zone from on the next snap to put the Black team up 7-0 with 7:29 left in the first quarter.

However, Ramsey found the range a little better on the Red team’s second possession.

On third down, he hit McKenzie in stride for a 72-yard scoring strike that tied the game at 7-all just 1:29 later at the 6:00 mark.

But as Richt pointed out, as much attention was being paid to the offense, the defense also had its moments Saturday.

Jarvis Wilson picked off a pass for the Red team from third-string quarterback Jacob Park late in the first half and returned it 53 yards to the Black 32, though the drive ended with a missed 42-yard field goal attempt by Marshall Morgan as the half expired.

Aside from that and a fumble recovery by the Red’s James Deloach, the defenses were just solid throughout the day.

“We came out and executed well,” said junior linebacker Reggie Carter, a South Gwinnett grad who led the Black team, and tied for the game lead, with eight tackles on the day. “We still have a long way to go, but we’re making big strikes, and we need to continue. Competition brings out the best, and everyone is getting better feeding off that competition.”