The one thing Kirby Smart wants to see from Gunner Stockton

Gunner Stockton’s is nearly ready to take over Kirby Smart’s program.

Georgia opens the season next weekend when the Bulldogs host Marshall on August 30. Stockton will be making his second career start and first at home in front of the Bulldog faithful.

What is the one thing Smart wants to see from Stockton when the lights come on?

“Good decisions, good decisions,” Smart said. “Make good decisions, continue to develop, understanding situational football.”

In modern college football, that task is harder than it sounds.

With spread offenses and the advent of the run-pass option, quarterbacks have more on their plates than ever before. Smart feels the information overload can fry quarterbacks’ brains if coaches aren’t careful.

“Some quarterbacks, I don’t think they know that down-and-distance,” Smart said. “I don’t think they actually know, do I have another down after this play, or is this my last chance to get the first down? It’s just little things, being a quarterback, understanding the game, understanding what the defense is doing.”

Smart, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, and the rest of the staff have been working hard to prepare Stockton for this moment.

They throw various scenarios at Stockton during practice. For years, Bulldog players have said the coaches try to make practice harder than the games. That has certainly been the case when it comes to Stockton and his decision-making.

The process covers both pre- and post-snap calls that the signal caller has to make.

“It’s not a play that he takes that he doesn’t have to at least decide something because that’s what offense has evolved to,” Smart said. “You don’t want to be in a bad play, so the best way to put a bad play is to give people options. The more options you give them, the tougher it is, and the more tough it is, the more you get second-guessed.”

With the season opener looming, Smart feels his quarterback is in a good place.

“Playing quarterback is, it’s like being a computer. He’s got a million things going on at once,” Smart said. “He’s gotten better and better at handling those things, and that’s what I want to see him do when he gets the opportunity.”