Gunner Stockton silenced many of his doubters and proved why he deserves to be the starting quarterback at Georgia with a clutch performance in his first true road test Sept. 13 against Tennessee.
Stockton had been criticized for his first two performances of the season against Marshall and Austin Peay, but was nearly perfect against the Vols, helping the Bulldogs win 44-41 in an overtime thriller at Neyland Stadium.
Stockton finished 23 of 31 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 13 times for 38 yards and a score.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart saw his quarterback perform well in front of over 100,000 fans in an overwhelmingly hostile environment.
“Just resiliency, man. He’s so tough. He takes shot after shot,” Smart said. “I thought he did a good job with the run game. He saved us on a couple of third downs. In the red area, he made a couple of runs. That plus-one run game can be big for us if he can protect himself. I thought he grew up tonight. He grew up a lot. He stood it in there. The fourth-down throw that he made was really good.”
The throw Smart referenced was in a make-or-break moment late in the fourth quarter when Georgia trailed 38-30. The Bulldogs faced a 4th-and-6 situation with 2:32 left, and if the offense didn’t convert, they likely would lose.
Stockton, who was critiqued for his downfield passing the week before against Austin Peay, threw a perfect ball to wide receiver London Humphreys in the corner of the end zone. He then completed a pass transfer to wide receiver Zacariah Branch on the opposite side of the end zone during the two-point conversion attempt.
Stockton also helped lead Georgia out of other situations, too.
The Bulldogs fell behind 7-0 early, and the Tiger native proved his arm is elite with a 41-yard strike downfield to wide receiver Colbie Young. A few plays later, he scored on a six-yard quarterback scramble.
Stockton also tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Branch when the Vols led 21-7 at the start of the second quarter.
After the game, Stockton was proud of his team for fighting back and showing resiliency.
“It was just awesome, just the resilient team we have,” Stockton said. “Everybody just pushing to the last second.”
Georgia safety KJ Bolden described how proud he was of Stockton after the game.
“He’s a dog,” Bolden said of Stockton. “The whole team is behind him. He never let the score faze him. The defense started off slow, but it never phased him. He came back, ready with a plan and ready to attack.”
While Smart praised Stockton, he also felt like he could improve on a few things during the bye week.
“Protection was better. I still want him to trust the pocket and stay in there, but that’s who he is,” Smart said. “We’re going to evolve with him where we can scramble and make some big-time plays if he’ll keep his eyes downfield when he scrambles.”
On Monday, Stockton was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week after his performance against the Vols.
“This is a great environment. They were rocking. It’s a fun place to play,” Stockton said. “It’s what you dream about. It’s a neat moment and I’m glad we came out with a W.”