Kirby Smart Praises UGA Football QB Gunner Stockton After Tennessee Victory
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KNOXVILLE - “I thought he grew up today. He grew up a lot.”
That’s what Georgia Bulldog coach Kirby Smart had to say about Gunner Stockton after Georgia’s thrilling 44-41 overtime victory over Tennessee.
It was Stockton’s first big road start. In Neyland Stadium. A place many think is one of the toughest to play in across the country.
And when the game mattered most, Stockton didn’t flinch. He grew up.
With the game hanging in the balance, down 38-30 in the final minutes, Gunner Stockton stepped up and saved the day. On 4th and 6, with the game on the line, Stockton floated a beautiful ball down the field that hit London Humphreys successfully over his shoulder.
Touchdown, Georgia.
After a successful two-point conversion, the game was tied, and Neyland Stadium was silent.
Dead silent.
The quiet assassin from Tiger, Georgia wasn’t afraid of the moment.
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”He showed me resiliency”, Smart added. “He’s just so tough. He takes shot after shot. I thought he did a good job in his run game. He saved us a couple times on 3rd down. He made a couple of runs in the red area. The 4th down throw he made was really good.”
Still, even though he led Georgia to victory, there’s still some “growing up” that Stockton has to do.
“The protection was better, but I still want him to trust the pocket and hang in there”, Smart said. “But that’s who he is. I think we’re going to evolve with him where we can scramble and make some really big-time plays where he’ll keep his eyes downfield when he scrambles.”
Stockton ended the day throwing for 304 yards and two touchdowns. One of them will live forever. He also added 38 yards and one more touchdown on the ground.
It was a gutsy performance. A clutch performance. A winning performance,
He was far from perfect and definitely left some throws out there, but Stockton showed why he’s loved by his coaches and teammates. He’s a gamer and played his absolute best when it mattered most on Saturday evening.
He’s not a pup anymore, but Gunner Stockton absolutely grew up in Knoxville. He faced adversity and lead his team to a come-from-behind victory on the road. Snatching victory away from defeat.
That’s what winners do, and the Dawgs have a winner in Gunner Stockton.
