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Kirby Smart details what he wants to see from Gunner Stockton

On3 imageby: Jake Rowe08/19/25JakeMRowe
Gunner Stockton Georgia
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) during Georgia’s practice session in Athens, Ga., on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Tony Walsh/UGAAA)

It doesn’t appear as if Kirby Smart is interested in making headlines by formally naming Gunner Stockton the quarterback. The Georgia head coach declined to do it on Tuesday, no matter how obvious it is to those who follow the team.

Smart did, however, bite on the topic of what he wants to see from Stockton in his first season as the starter, providing more reason to think he has his starter. What he’s looking for isn’t all that complicated either.

“Good decisions, good decisions,” Smart said. “Make good decisions, continue to develop, understanding situational football. We’ve made football so complicated. Some quarterbacks, I don’t think they know that down-and-distance. 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. He’s grown so much in regards to that.”

The 10th year head coach also pointed to how he’d like to see Stockton identify the correct protections and make the correct run-game calls. He likened playing the quarterback position to being a computer. There’s “a million things” running through Stockton’s mind at once, and it’s his job to process those things.

Smart has also seen improvement during camp. Sources tell DawgsHQ that the Rabun County High School product has put together his best preseason camp yet. He led the offense on two scoring drives to starts Saturday’s scrimmage and excelled in situational work, which included third down and red zone.

The fact remains that Stockton has never been the full-time starter. He had a somewhat shaky but highly successful second half against Texas when Carson Beck went down with a ulnar collateral ligament injury at the end of the first half. Georgia came back from three points down to win its third SEC title under Smart.

He was also, at times, a bright spot in the Bulldogs’ Allstate Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame. He threw for 240 yards and a touchdown despite poor protection and no run game of which to speak. Now the keys belong to him, whether Smart will come out and say it or not.

As for the ability to make decisions in a fast-paced environment, Smart believes that Stockton has to lean on his preparation. There are a lot of things he has yet to see in game situations, but his head coach believes that he has seen plenty on the Georgia practice field.

“It’s not any different between practice and a game,” Smart said of getting Stockton ready to handle the speed of the game. “We’re not hitting him.So it’s one of those things that you get lots of reps at it.x

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