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Georgia

Kirby Smart explains how Georgia's offense changes with Gunner Stockton at QB

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp12/11/24
Gunner Stockton
Tony Walsh / UGA Sports Communications

Starting quarterback Carson Beck is in limbo for Georgia with an elbow injury, leaving the Bulldogs to begin preparations for an offense manned by backup Gunner Stockton.

With a College Football Playoff appearance coming, time is of the essence. How quickly the Bulldogs can get Stockton up to speed could very well determine how long the season lasts.

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The good news in Athens is that the coaching staff has a lot of confidence in the sophomore quarterback.

“Well I think his strengths are somewhat different than Carson’s, obviously,” coach Kirby Smart said. “But we’ve known that. There’s not a game we don’t go into that we don’t have a plan for Gunner if he were to have to play. I mean when he’s your backup quarterback he’s got to be ready to play.”

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Gunner Stockton took over and mostly did well in the SEC Championship Game, though he wasn’t asked to do too much. He finished 12-of-16 passing for 71 yards, though he did throw one costly interception. He also ran for eight yards.

Getting the version of Gunner Stockton that can play turnover-free football while also impacting the game with his legs is the ideal scenario for Georgia.

It’s clear the plan will be slightly tweaked for him.

“He functions and operates really well within our current offense,” Smart said. “We don’t think we have to change much in terms of that. He does give us the capability of doing some different things with his athleticism. I thought Mike (Bobo) and those guys did a good job using that. The team has a lot of confidence in Gunner. He’s very smart, very intelligent.”

Perhaps the biggest change for Gunner Stockton as he runs the offense will be the size of the package Georgia puts in for him. There might be a little less of the playbook available.

“I don’t know that it’s a lot of change,” Smart said. “It’s probably more picking the volume correctly in terms of not having everything that we have with Carson but having things that fit Gunner.”

Gunner Stockton and Georgia will take on either Notre Dame or Indiana in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, the final quarterfinal matchup of the day.