Here’s an interesting take on Gunner’s up and down sides.
Gunner Stockton 2026-27 Outlook
Stockton was one of the most prolific dual-threat quarterbacks in Georgia history in high school. And in his first full season as a starter as a redshirt junior he went 12-2 with a 69.7% completion percentage, 1.3% interception rate, and 34 total touchdowns.
2025:
Against Ole Miss in the regular season, he had 5 total touchdowns, and he had 5 total touchdowns on 24 of 29 passing against Texas. But he also went 11 of 21 for 70 passing yards against Georgia Tech and he didn’t play well as a passer in the CFP against Ole Miss.
Coaching:
This season he’ll get former Clemson OC Brandon Streeter for his QB coach. Streeter these days is mostly seen as a recruiter, but he has a very good track record of working with QBs and developing their mechanics.
Stockton’s OC will be Mike Bobo who runs a lot of quick game, heavy personnel, and play action which will play to Stockton’s dual threat strengths.
Receivers:
The receiving room will have various options which will help Stockton.
Talyn Taylor is inexperienced (aside from his drop against Alabama), but he is clearly the WR in this group with superstar ability. He’s quick, fast, has elite body control, and can lineup virtually anywhere.
CJ Wiley and Isiah Canion are both 6 ft 4 in targets who can block, be used on back shoulder routes and comeback routes, and open up the field with their vertical ability. Wiley specifically can be a real red-zone threat, while Canion has the chops to step in and be the WR1 any given game if necessary. I actually consider Canion the most polished WR of this group.
Sacovie White-Helton can come in and replace a lot of what will be lost from Cash Jones IE bubble screens, jet sweeps, and slants in the slot.
London Humphreys has the most experience and probably the most speed and explosiveness.
But Lawson Luckie is probably the main breakout to watch here despite being a tight end. He’s a little undersized at 6 ft 4 in 240 lbs, but he makes up for it with acrobatic athleticism and playmaking ability. He also has good hands and blocks well. Luckie doesn’t have the upside of Talyn Taylor, but his breakout is more plausible and Lucki’s position is a big need for the offense Georgia is expected to run.
O-Line:
Phil Rauscher is Georgia’s new offensive-line coach. The unit has depth and a strong interior. It’s probably a top-10 offensive line in the nation. Earnest Greene III is expected to be one of the best tackle prospects in the 2027 NFL Draft. Drew Bobo is back healthy and so far he’s been one of the best centers in the country.
As a prospect:
Positives
-compact, sturdy build
-enough speed for designed NFL quarterback runs
-effective short-area acceleration
-difficult for arm tackles to finish
-functional passer,very accurate with good velocity on shorter throws
-strong processor, can use deception
-experienced in NFL pro-style offense
-navigates the pocket well
-mature, waited for 3 years before starting
-low interception rateNegatives
-below preferred NFL quarterback height at 6 ft 0 in
-needs anticipation to compensate for average raw arm strength
-style exposes him to unnecessary hits
-his mobility is good, but not rare
-can’t consistently hit throws requiring touch over a second-level defenderConclusion:
Stockton does not currently possess one overwhelming trait that typically drives early quarterback selections such as elite arm strength, elite size, elite mobility/speed, elite pocket creation, elite downfield accuracy, or advanced NFL-level processing.
But he’s capable of developing several of those traits. Stockton is grossly underrated and he’ll have all the tools to have a strong season. He’s probably worthy of being a Heisman Dark Horse candidate. His current market price for the Heisman is 18-1.”
Somehow, I didn’t know about the Quarterback coach…I didn’t realize Brandon Streeter was coaching quarterbacks, as he is the guy who coached up Trevor Lawrence at Clemson. His QB pedigree was good, his OC acumen…not so much, only making it two seasons as OC in Clemson.
Gunner’s play is odd to me. He is a good QB, but maybe it is consistency that causes me to not be totally comfortable with him. I don’t know. Comfortable probably isn’t the right word. Confident is probably better word.
For some reason he doesn’t always see down the field well and doesn’t see open targets. Hopefully that has improved with another off season. I do know this. He is clutch and plays his best usually when it matters most. I heard this week that he had the highest QB rating in the country in the 4th quarter.
With Stetson I expected a bad throw or decision due to his gunslinger mentality. I think Gunner needs to be braver in the down field passing game. It may mean a few more turnovers, but I think the upside for explosive plays will counteract that to the over all good.
“It may mean a few more turnovers …”
Like Carson Beck’s last year? No thanks. Interceptions are typically not luck plays (unlike recovering fumbles). At their root is a poor decision that, many times, are compounded by a poor throw.
If we were +15 in turnover margin every year, I may agree with you, but the fact that our defense has really never been predicated on forcing turnovers, sudden change plays like a pick in either red zone can change a game’s outcome.
I just think he is too overly cautious and doesn’t trust himself enough pushing the ball down the field. Stetson either saw the play develop down field better or just had more confidence to throw it. Gunner seems like he has to see the guy wide open to throw it down field versus seeing when the guy will be open as or before it is happening. Maybe he just goes through his progressions too fast. There were many times last year where Bobo called a play where a deeper route was open only to have Gunner check down to another option. I just want him to have the confidence to not worry about failing (ie. Something bad happening if he throws the deeper route). They say he does it in practice. Let’s see it in a game more often.
Beck’s last season was something else entirely. He was great in 2023 and then 2024 he didn’t have Bowers or McConkey and the drops started. I think Beck lost confidence in his WRs and that caused the decisions to deteriorate.
I have no idea about his emotional state on pushing the ball downfield. I can definitely see the open man when I watch and rewind plays and think, “Why didn’t he throw it there?” I have no idea what he sees pre-snap that tells him where to start the progression. I also have no idea what the actual play call is and who is actually in the progression.
Stetson in 2020 as a starter was much worse than Gunner as a starter in 2025. Other yards per attempt and TD passes, Gunner’s stats were very comparable to SBIV in 2021. Let’s see what 2nd year progression Gunner makes.
Yeah, it’s his vision that needs improvement. Confidence in what he sees will lead to confidence letting it fly. He’s a mostly accurate passer as it is, so there’s room for improvement. The rest of his game is good enough to win. Better OL play, better vision from the RBs, WRs and TEs getting open more; minimal improvement all around and the offense will be top 15.
Don’t get me wrong. I think Gunner is one of the top QBs in the conference and country. My thoughts really relate to pushing this team past just making the playoff. I think he will have the second year jump which should make the Dogs a contender to win the damn thing.
QB is definitely not a concern for this team in my view. The biggest questions marks are WR threats and pass rush to reach the next level in my opinion.
All in all that’s not an unfair assessment of Gunner for LAST season. These assessments don’t factor in variables for off season work outs to work on areas of need. Do you think for one second Kirby, Gunner and Streeter didn’t know what needs to be polished up?
If he’s done the offseason work, if we can rtdb , and stop it, we’ll be fine. The kid has a lot of Stetson in him. The clutch gene is there. Just need to smooth out some of the first three quarters issues. As we saw in 2022, a second year starter can make some big leaps and, if he does make that leap, the frequency of the need to be clutch drops precipitously.
I’d be shocked if this team isn’t a lock for the playoffs. Once you’re in its all about team health, momentum, motivation, and match ups. In other words, it will come down to shit we can’t possibly see or predict in early November much less in late July.
I’m ready for the start of the qualifying exhibitions!
If this team doesn’t make the CFP, it would be a major disappointment unless we were totally decimated by injury.
Its possible to lose the two big road games and spit the bit on a 3rd game without that scenario. Just isn’t very likely.
More likely scenario is that bammer is in disarray and/or that OM loses focus.
It just looks like a 2 game season to me, but someone else will probably push us along the way. Just a matter of who that is, if anyone. Auburn, Florida and South Carolina seem the most likely candidates. Oklahoma, as the sec home opener, and after 3 breathers, just doesn’t seem likely.
USCe as a double digit home dog seems to me to be biggest threat.
I’m thinking we roll into the seccg with 1 loss or less and we’re playing for that sweet, sweet bye. Again.
Hopefully, we’re better prepared for a long layoff should it happen.
The assessment is fair – but, I don’t care about what the NFL thinks. Like referenced in other posts, I’m ready to trust in Offseason Improvement. Previous QBs on Bobo’s watch have made jumps in performance their second season. Maybe Streeter helps with that, too. It would be nice to see our team not busted up in the post-season like the past two seasons.
I will ride withGunner at the tip of the Dawg spear.
Dude is leader by example, tough as nails, & loves being aDawg.
True grit is rare and hard to find these days.
Metric this and measurement that, having a winning back ground/heart, getting those around you to follow (leadership), loving what you do, good genes…#14 has the skills, ability, knowledge and has shown he can stay in the moment, who the fuck knows what the next level has for him, UGA football has #14 for one, maybe two seasons…life at UGA ain’t that bad…GO DAWGS!!
If we fall short this year, I doubt it will be because of Gunner. He was 12-2 as a starter last year and still has to take shit from the pundits. He is our guy and I would take him over anyone else in the SEC.
I really like Gunner. He’s the kind of Georgia kid you can who makes you proud, and he is tough and unassuming. He is a leader of the team. Love his story and his loyalty to UGA. I hope he can make a legend of himself this year. If he does, it won’t matter much for his life what the NFL thinks.
What would make Gunner more productive. If he had a Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey that would probably help some.
2 (nearly) first round draft picks usually do help an offense.
But as the couch coordinators will explain, you can scheme me as open as you can Brock with the use of high quality play calling skills.
Which we lack…. Because Kirby doesn’t care or get it!!
Also, Granddaddy 0, MR-J, Kearis Jackson, etc. Everyone also forgets he had 2 great targets coming out of the backfield in Cook and McIntosh.
All I know is that he’s the toughest sob in college football. Some of those shots he’s taken would have killed the average player.
when he took that goal line hit against texas and popped up and put his helmet back on… all I needed to see.
I would still take him over Archibald.
I don’t care if he has a slower throwing motion, that dude is a fucking bad ass mofo.
Legend. now go get some rings.
meant… get some MORE rings
I don’t see losing games because of Gunner. He should also keep us from needing a lot of late game QB heroics to win. A true college QB perfect for our offense. Can’t see a Heisman…won’t get the stats of a pure passing attack QB…nor an NFL future. So every great accomplishment before him is winning games for UGA. Improved OL play especially for the running game and a nastier D is all he needs for that success to happen. Like Derek noted the better we RTDB the more dangerous Gunner’s feet and short route quickness becomes. If he’s improved in the offseason we’ll see it in his OC calling some deep shots early but I sort of doubt it unless we have a Pickens type WR who can make a play out of nothing.