UGA Football Coaches And Players Rave About Gunner Stockton

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ATHENS - After leading the Georgia Bulldogs to a come-from-behind victory over the Texas Longhorns in the SEC Title game, quarterback Gunner Stockton will make his very first start against Notre Dame this week in the Sugar Bowl.

Here’s what Stockton’s coaches and teammates said about him this week...

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo:

“My message to Gunner, and really to any quarterback that I've ever coached, is you have to be Gunner Stockton. You can't try to be Coach Kirby Smart, Coach Mike Bobo. You can't try to be Carson Beck. You can't try to be Jake Fromm, Stetson Bennett. You have to be Gunner Stockton, because I'm going to be Mike Bobo, and I want you to be Gunner Stockton. And if we're who we are all the time around each other, I think that's where the trust goes.”

“I can't say enough for the way he started the season and approached every game, which sometimes that's just words that we say. You gotta be ready, but his day in and day out, how he approached getting ready for the game, as if he was a starter, I think has prepared him for this moment. If you asked me that last year, I don't think he had that same mindset. We talked about it going into the season, you gotta prepare as you're the starter every week. And he took that to heart, and he did an excellent job of that. Now, moving into this game prep, things are centered around him and his strengths and what he does well. That was the difference here on weeks before where it was centered around Carson [Beck] and what he does well with our football team. Now it's centered around Gunner and what he does well.So things are a little bit more specific to him. Questions are asked to him, whether he likes this scheme or this play going into practice, and whether we carry it or not. We have those conversations where before it was with Carson because he was a starter. So I think he's handled it well, he's preparing, he's getting ready to play a very, very tough opponent, a very good defense football team.”

Tight end Oscar Delp:

“Yeah, I mean, me and Gunner, we go back a long way. I mean, since high school, we've known each other, and I've lived with him since I got here. It was a special moment for both of us. I mean, getting to have him come in there and play alongside each other was really cool, and I'm just so happy for him. I get to see the work he puts in every day, and I know how hard he works and how hard he prepares, even when he wasn't playing. I mean, he's watching film four, five hours a night after practice, and he didn't know if he was going to play a snap that week. And for it to finally kind of all come full circle was super cool.”

Tate Ratledge on where Gunner Stockton has grown in his preparation for Notre Dame:

“I'd say the way he just takes control of the huddle. Now, I can tell he's got full control of our huddle. And the way he steps in, calls the plays, and just goes about his business. And then, I mean, I walked in here the other night at 10 o'clock, because I forgot something, Gunner's sitting in there watching film. So just his buy-in right now is what's huge, and just the respect he has for everybody.”

Arian Smith on the difference between catching balls from Carson Beck and Gunner Stockton:

“Everybody’s different. They say I run routes different than Dillon Bell, or Gunner definitely throws a different ball than Carson, so adjusting to those is just time with the quarterback. Practice – make sure I get those throws at practice or after practice if I don’t get a lot of catches in practice. So just taking the time to make time so I get those different catches where I’m running out and they throw the ball that drops – their balls drop differently because of how they release the ball. So they definitely throw different, but my job is to catch the ball.”

Glenn Schumann on the challenges that Gunner Stockton presents to opponents…

“Well, Gunner, speak about the athleticism, the ability to move in the pocket, extend plays. He makes you defend the entire field, and he makes you play honest on defense. You have to account for him on any given play, and it opens up a lot of those plays we're talking about with Riley [Leonard] there, where he extends plays and is able to throw the ball down the field that way. He does that. You have to account for him in your rush when you're playing certain coverages. And that's a big part of playing quarterback nowadays, making the defense play honest, and I think that's the biggest thing about Gunner, he's extremely competitive. e adds a dimension to the offense that y'all saw a little bit of in the past, and we've seen a lot of over the years.”

Chaz Chambliss on Gunner Stockton’s personality…

“He is one of those guys that can just flip a switch. Off the field, he is completely different than what he is on the field. He is a competitor at the end of the day. Obviously, when he was in high school, he was one of the best to ever do it in Georgia. He just has the fire underneath him.”

Mykel Williams on Gunner Stockton…

“I see a calm, steady hand. I feel like Gunner had the team behind him right now, and we believe in his ability to come in and get this job done. And do it what we need. That’s what I believe Gunner has.”