A Thousand Million Questions, Part 2

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Back again with Part 2 of this series of questions we as fans have for the team, in the absence of either good reporting or excellent obfuscation by Kirby. And it’s also really fun to have these discussions right before the season anyway. I’m asking them in order of importance to me. Yesterday’s question was about the defensive line. Today, quarterback.

QUESTION 2: HOW MUCH HAS GUNNER IMPROVED?

I know this is the hottest topic on fans’ minds, but I still have it comfortably behind the DL question, because an elite DL carried Stetson for a while in 2021 while he developed into the clutch, balls-of-steel QB he became. Gunner is not Stetson, although there appear to be some overlapping or shared skills. For instance, both can escape pressure, but Stetson is a little quicker. I’d happily take Gunner’s slightly slower feet if he developed his pocket presence faster, though. And the elephant in the room is obviously his elongated throwing motion. We saw him at the UGA Pro Day with a shortened motion, but will that continue to hold, and especially under pressure? Throwing motions generally take more than a few months to become permanent, so we’ll see. Most important though is how much of the playbook does he know well, including checks and protections, and can he communicate them effectively? Also, how well has he gelled with the new elite transfer receivers and the other front line wideouts? I have no questions for that group, and in fact, I’m practically giddy to watch them in action. I actually think they’re capable of carrying Gunner until the Bama game, when they’ll finally be playing against some talented DBs. Final question on Gunner is the amount he and the coaches feel comfortable with him running the ball. He’s pretty good at that, as we saw against the Horns in Atlanta. But there are risks. It seems like Ryan Puglisi and Ryan Montgomery are improving, but I’ll bet they’re not yet close to being able to run the entire offense well. So, my expectation on that front is that he won’t have more than 2-3 planned RPO keepers or wide set QB draws per game.

Your thoughts?

34 thoughts on “A Thousand Million Questions, Part 2”

  1. I bet Gunner can execute the WR screen pass better than any other QB in the nation. Not sure how he can execute the 15 + yd throws.

    • I think there’s a good chance he throws a better deep ball than Beck (admittedly not a high bar). Reportedly he’s been great on inward cutting routes (slants and posts).

      • Good. Some Handbag will make a comment the week of the Cocktail Party about all he can do is throw slants. I think that was Chauncey-Gardner … he probably still wakes up with night sweats from seeing Dre Swift in his nightmares.

  2. I’m ok with Gunner running opportunistically, like Stet was very good at doing. But he has to be smart about avoiding the kill shots, which Stet seemed to be good at, too. Him taking on a fast closing LB or S at full speed seems like a bad idea. Love the toughness, but be smart about it.

  3. If Gunner can have a similar stat profile between 2021 and 2022 SBIV (remember Bennett didn’t start in at least 2 games in 2021), we’re going to be fine. If he gets close to a Jake Fromm type of running game, we’re going to be a tough out for anyone.

    Yeah, I said it. If the offensive line plays to its potential, this team will play deep into January. If not (and it’s not due to injuries), Stacy Searels (and possibly, Mike Bobo) is looking for a new job soon there after

    • Totally agree there. Really hope these first two games give him more quality game reps so he’s feeling confident going into Kneeland. Getting the OL and backup skill guys reps will be key too. I’m a little concerned Kirby will be overly conservative with the gameplan and they won’t be up by enough to get everyone decent snap counts, but maybe that’s fine if Gunner plays 3 quarters each game. Reports have been coming in from the scrimmage that Gunner continues to improve, so let’s hope that trajectory matches Stet’s.

  4. I honestly do not have a clue on this one and wouldn’t bet a dollar on how Gunner plays this year. The Munson in me keeps going back to other times we hung our hopes on QB’s with obvious shortcomings – Joe T., Joe Cox. Ughh, that was rough.

    • Totally get that, but remember Gunner’s historical profile is a lot better than those guys, and so is his surrounding cast.

    • I’m pretty sure that Bobo knows exactly what he has in Gunner Stockton, how he takes coaching, his mental toughness, strengths and weaknesses, what motivates him, etc. He’s been involved in coaching Gunner from a very young age and George Bobo was Gunner’s H.S. FB coach.
      H.S. records don’t mean much in SEC play but breaking these three stand out to me:
      -Career touchdown passes previously held by Trevor Lawrence (2014-2017)
      -Combined touchdowns (running and passing) previously held by Deshaun Watson (2010-2013)
      -Total yardage for a career (all forms) previously held by Deshaun Watson (2010-2013)
      Another thing I notice about Gunner is how fired up he is during games getting into the face of opposing players and fist pumping big plays. He’s so damn shy during interviews, I think fans tend to worry about how tough he is. Go watch some film and learn.
      I get the inner Munson and I get the “but he only played at 2A program” argument. But I’m here to tell you that Gunner Stockton is going to be an elite QB for Georgia for he next two seasons. Then we’re all gonna be bitching at Bobo for not playing him instead or Beck.
      Go ahead and write this down.
      Cheers and GO DAWGS!

  5. Gunner wasn’t some private school walk on type of QB that was some sort of legacy that Kirby « had » to give a scholarship… dude was legit 4/5*.
    This teams wins if DL and OL play with a Samuel L Jackson type of attitude. I’d buy them all wallet’s with Jules Winnfield’s motto on it « B.M.F. »!

    • Definitely from a small school though and didn’t camp much. That said, he was evaluated by a lot of football folks who thought very highly of his QB traits.

      • Corre3ct me if I am wrong (as if someone here wouldn’t) BUT I believe Gunner took Rabun Co to the semi’s two years in a row. He may have breezed through his region but Georgia AA-AAA classes are some of the toughest in the state once in the playoffs. We all could name some greats that cam out of those lower classes ( Ronnie Brown AAA Cartersville, Takeo Spikes AA Washington Co , Champ Bailey A Charlton Co just to name a few.

        • Gunner was an elite HS QB, and he still holds several career records. Yes, you can pick out several great players from any GA HS class of football, but overall the competition at A and AA doesn’t match the higher classes. He destroyed the classes he played against.

          • I would think so. He was very highly ranked and he’s got really good QB skills. He’s just 2 inches shorter, has less arm strength than Raiola, and his throwing motion is longer.

  6. Carson Beck is the only QB on Bobo’s watch not to improve during their second season. I know six quarters doesn’t really count but a full offseason basically being the guy should allow him to progress like some of the others.

    Heyell, if he has a Joe Cox season we should be in a great spot

  7. I’ll throw out that Gunner is the Anti-Arch Manning (the “arch-Arch?”).

    For all the love that Quinn Ewer’s back-up has gotten for doing effectively nothing against good teams, Gunner has been dawggraded even though her performed well against 2 playoff teams. The legend of Arch grew with good performances against (checks notes): UTSA, ULM and Miss State. Gunner balled out the 2nd half against Tejas, and held his own while running for his life against a tough ND defense.

    I’ll take our arch-Arch with a chip on his shoulder any day.

  8. Gunner leads us to a perfect season and wins the Heisman. Mark it right now.

  9. I hope we see VERY LITTLE of Gunner after the middle of the 3rd quarter this year. We played down to the level of so many (really poor) teams last year that the backups got very few meaningful snaps. In years past, the guys that had to step in had a lot of snaps under their belts. Not so much now.

  10. If the offensive line consistency hasn’t improved, it won’t matter much if Gunner has. Beck shouldered a lot of the blame last year (and in many cases, rightfully so). However, the INABILITY to run the ball significantly made Beck’s job harder. I think Gunner has the ability to run the ball to force the defense to account for him more than Beck did — however, there is still a lot riding on the offensive line’s performance this year.

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