ATHENS, Ga. — In last week’s 45-7 season-opening win against Marshall, redshirt junior Gunner Stockton showed what Georgia’s offense may look like in 2025, when it’s designed to take use of his versatile skills as a quarterback.
Stockton’s second such opportunity for fourth-ranked Georgia comes Saturday afternoon, when the Bulldogs are back at Sanford Stadium to host Football Championship Subdivision member Austin Peay (1-0) in their final warmup game before diving into Southeastern Conference play with back-to-back battles against border rivals. Georgia opens its SEC schedule against Tennessee in Knoxville on Sept. 13 and is home one week later to face Alabama.
Stockton passed for two touchdowns and ran for two scores while leading Georgia with 73 rushing yards last week, prompting 10th-year head coach Kirby Smart to call the first-year starter “a warrior.”
It makes for a difficult act for Stockton to follow against the Governors.
“I thought he did an excellent job of improvising when things weren’t there, or there was a breakdown,” Smart said this week. “That was probably the best thing he did, was take care of the ball, protect the ball, and make plays with his legs. He continues to get better. The next step is play with a little more confidence. I think each time you start playing games, you lose some of that anxiety.”