Georgia's Kirby Smart Continues Quiet Confidence in Gunner Stockton
Ever since taking the head coaching job at his alma mater, Georgia‘s Kirby Smart has never been one to crave constant media attention. Rather, he’d likely prefer to do without it.
Which makes Tuesday’s announcement that Gunner Stockton will be one of the three players to attend SEC Media Day in Atlanta, and potentially an even larger indication that he will be his starting quarterback, less of a surprise.
Despite being the quarterback Smart turned to when Carson Beck was injured, Stockton has, to date, never had an official announcement as being Georgia’s starter in 2025.
Tuesday’s proclamation is the closest thing to it so far.
Yet, just because Stockton hasn’t been anointed as “the guy” in quite the same way as his predecessors, shouldn’t be mistaken as a sign of a lack of confidence in the Tiger, Ga., native.
“This kid’s a winner. This kid’s special. He’s a winner,” Smart told ESPN’s Holly Rowe about Stockton following the SEC Championship win over Texas.
In the sentence preceding that, Smart revealed that he didn’t “say one word” to Stockton before he entered the game in Atlanta. He left for that his offensive coordinator, Mike Bobo, who just so happens to be the man that Stockton originally committed to play for when the veteran play-caller was at South Carolina.
With Beck gone, Stockton is the only quarterback on Georgia’s roster who has not only recorded a start but also played in a game. Despite Stockton’s lone start so far being the 23-10 loss to Notre Dame, his performance was seemingly enough for Georgia to decide that their confidence in him wasn’t misplaced.
In fact, Georgia has only doubled down since. They did not dip into the transfer portal to add more competition at quarterback. Smart has even publicly gone to bat for his new quarterback during a May interview with the SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum.
In response to a segment on ESPN from Finebaum earlier that day, where the SEC personality revealed his doubts about Stockton, Smart practically thanked him.
“I’m excited. Gunner got the message. He got the message. You did your job,” Smart said in response to Finebaum.
He then added that he always goes on Finebaum’s show because the host always gives him a little “extra motivation.”
In an offseason where Smart has preached about his desire to find players with “fire, passion, and energy,” he is looking to Stockton as a leader.
“He’s a tremendous leader, but that’s nothing I didn’t already know,” Smart said of Stockton in the spring. “He’s done everything right since he’s been here. … He earns people’s respect by how he works and how he carries himself. He’s got a tremendous amount of confidence in his ability.”