georgia football gunner stockton starting quarterback

Being the youngest quarterback at Georgia, you’d be forgiven for discounting Gunner Stockton in the upcoming quarterback derby. Carson Beck has spent two more years in college compared to Stockton while Brock Vandagriff is a redshirt sophomore.

But overlooking Stockton because he doesn’t have the experience of Beck or the 5-star ranking of Vandagriff would be a mistake. Stockton spent much of his freshman season making a big impression on his teammates and coaches.

After Georgia’s 65-7 win over TCU, Kirby Smart gushed first about Stockton and how he played on the scout team for Georgia.

“We got one that took a black jersey off and took hits all week so he could be Max (Duggan),” Smart said. “And Gunner Stockton said, Coach, take my shirt off. I’ll take the hits.”

Duggan wasn’t the only Heisman finalist quarterback Stockton replicated last season as he also did the same as CJ Stroud prior to Georgia’s game against Ohio State. While Stroud had a much better game against Georgia than Duggan, Georgia defenders still took notice of how Stockton played.

“Practice is harder than the game. Gunner was slinging it like CJ was out there,” linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson said.

Stockton relished his chance to both take hits from the No. 1 defense but also just get reps. With Stetson Bennett firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback for Georgia, reps at practice and in games were few and far between.

So by playing the role of scout team quarterback, Stockton got to hone his abilities and adjust to the physicality of the college game.

“Anytime you play scout team, you get to go against the No. 1 defense and that will make you better,” Stockton said.

Of the quarterbacks at Georgia, Stockton’s skillset is most similar to that of Bennett. Stockton is a good bit bigger than Bennett and should be better able to take hits at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds. Consider Bennett was 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds at the NFL combine.

While Stockton, Beck and Vandagriff will all be working in a new offense next season, Stockton is the most familiar with Georgia’s newest play caller in Mike Bobo. Stockton actually committed to play for Bobo when he was the offensive coordinator at South Carolina. But when Bobo left for Auburn, Stockton ended up signing with Georgia.

The two were both at Georgia last season, with Bobo serving as an analyst. He spent a lot of time drawing up plays with Todd Monken but was not working in a hands-on capacity with the Georgia quarterbacks. He will do so this season, as Bobo will double as the quarterbacks coach at Georgia.

“He’s a good coach and was a good quarterback when he was at Georgia too,” Georgia coach Kenny McIntosh said. “He’s definitely going to have control of the offense and be able to develop those guys, scheme out things the way he wants it. Having learned from Monken, been under Monken, he’s definitely going to be able to take some of that into his game.”

Bobo will have some talented players to work with in Beck, Vandagriff and Stockton. And while Beck may be seen as the favorite to win the job, Stockton is not to be overlooked for what he can bring to this offense.

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