We are now at the 3rd of our 4 Key Questions for Georgia’s Season. And this one could be the most important of all.
Question 3: Can Gunner Level Up?
There is no one who can criticize Gunner Stockton’s heart, his toughness, or his love for Georgia. He was a heavily recruited QB out of Rabun County, a true duel threat, and he’s developed his passing skills quite a bit since arriving in Athens. He waited his turn as Stetson and Carson held the reins at QB1 and then turned a magic trick beating Texas in the SEC Championship game in 2024. We all had the highest of hopes.
Last year, he started slowly, partially because his OL was inexperienced and injured early, then had to work through inconsistencies before developing late in the year. He was harassed and started seeing ghosts, leaving the pocket when he didn’t need to and missing open receivers downfield. He also had some amazing performances, like at Tennessee, and Ole Maid and Texas at home. He improved his elongated delivery and heavy elbow. But the inconsistencies were draining for fans because we always expect development to be linear. It rarely is.
This year, he’s got no competition for the starting job again, his OL is miles better than last year, his RBs should be improved, his TEs are (as a group) the best in the sport, and his defense should be giving him the ball back more frequently and in better spots. His WRs should be pretty good at a minimum, but likely a downgrade from last year. He has packed on some lbs and worked hard all offseason. So, will we get a more consistently good product out of him, or will the WRs impede that production? Will he trust the pocket more, keep his eyes downfield when he scrambles, and improve his accuracy? Will he slide a few more times instead of taking so many hits? Or will none of that be as relevant as we think because Kirby intends to RTDB 50 times per game? (Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that. Whatever works, amirite?)
It’s hard to determine if the downfield passing gap is due to gunner, bobo or both. My fear is gunner improves getting the ball downfield only to have the WRs drop the ball.
That would be some shitty irony for sure.
I know they are different people, but Gunnar’s progression could be similar to Stetson’s in that this is only his true second year starting, and if we recall, Stetson something to be desired after 2020 and didn’t really completely see the matrix until Indianapolis in 2021. He then put on a show in 2022.
I think the Gun show begins this year and we really see him come into his own for all the reasons you mentioned above but most importantly for his confidence. I’ll be there on Saturday to watch the opening act!
That’s my lean as well, B2B. Just need a couple pass catchers to surface for him.
*left something to be desired
Fingers crossed.
Did Gunner leave some plays on the field last year? Yes.
Did he make plays in a couple of games we could have easily lost? Yes.
Did he take care of the ball for much of the season and obeyed the first rule of quarterbacking – Do no harm? Yes.
Do I think he is likely to be better this year over last? Yes (I have no inside information on that).
Can he be All-SEC first team this year? Absolutely. Will he? We’ll see.
Unless we have some good WRs, it will be hard to say how good Gunner is or can be. Playcalling will also determine how we perceive Gunner’s skillset. Are we calling 15 screen passes a game? Does Bobo trust the WR group? Does Gunner? Does Gunner see the field better instead of having a run-first mentality? Are we going to be a run-first offense and, can we survive like that? Lots of questions that won’t be answered Saturday as I expect that we will RTDB a lot to see if we can impose our will on an outmatched opponent and if our OL and RBs are as good as we think they are.
I think screens were used so much due to Branch and Cash being so good at executing them. Both are gone, so we’ll see what Bobo will scheme up with this group.
It seems Gunner is being instructed to take more risks and push the ball downfield. Does that mean Kirby feels better that the defense can handle the extra turnovers or that he knows Cash Money Man Jones isn’t here to bail out the offense with screens. Ok the Branch guy helped a little too. The offense has to create more explosive plays. Or get really good against a ten man front.
The limited reporting I’ve seen says the WR group has struggled at times to catch and is not getting separation in practice. If it takes 13 personnel I don’t care. Find a combination that works for Gunner.
I’m so ready for talking to end and watching begin. I can mute them all if needed to enjoy watching.
To those going Saturday stay thirsty my friends!
They’ve got 3 more weeks to develop the passing game before OU comes to town with their top 10 defense. 🤞🏼
Gunner doesnt have the wheels, agility, or touch that Stetson has. I don’t think we are going to see a world beater at QB this year. Probably get us back to the show and maybe pull off a win, but I don’t see a prolific offense with Gunner at the helm. Better than last year should probably be the expectation ceiling. But who knows. I trashed Stetson all the time while he won 2 nattys.
I do think it says something that he barely participated in scrimmages this year. Maybe he won’t be invited to NYC, but I can definitely see him becoming a more consistent player.
He will be as good as our OC lets him be. Our OC will be as good as his QB lets him be. Let’s hope that’s good enough for both. I don’t expect much different from Gunner passing but his game command will keep improving. I expect a team that plays contain with outside pressure and cornerbacks who can jam our receivers at the line will present the biggest problem. If we use the TEs and Humphries in the slot we can overcome that. Improved OL and RB by committee should result in some 4th Q Kirby-boa suffocating drives. Bet the unders!
Totally agree and I’m already on the under for tomorrow!
My primary hope is that he stops taking so many hard shots. Superman dives over the corner of the end zone are fine, but I want to see him slide more at the end of runs and stay healthy now and for his health long term. That said, he loves laying the wood on people, so….
Sadly, Lil Stet and Matrix Bowers ain’t walking through the door to make Bobo look like Fraud Monken.
I don’t know if it’s a level up issue, but can Gunnar be Jake Fromm? Lean on the Defense and Run Game and run Flood Zones on one side of the field and only require 2 or 3 Arm talent throws a game with play action sprinkled in. Historically, Bobo QBs make a big jump in their second season, unfortunately Pasty Somali Carson Beck’s floor was so high, it was hard to see improvement and we’ve sorta forgotten. Bobo was a miracle worker with Joe Cox, so maybe Gunnar only needs to be a haffa dozen plays better a game, right? He’s under a 5th yr center, with a pretty experienced line, and we might be seeing a 3 headed monster at RB. Additionally, a TE room that creates match up challenges.
Two things: I don’t care how physically tough Gunnar is – QB toughness doesn’t seem to tip the difference enough AND if a TE is sposed to be a QBs best friend, the fact Gunnar wasn’t on the same page with his roommate New Orleans Saints great Oscar Delp last season seems bothersome.
#GoDawgs