Considering his defense has scrimmaged against Gunner Stockton for three years, Bulldog defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann has an idea of the kind of problems Georgia’s new starting quarterback could give Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.
“He makes you defend the entire field, and he makes you play honest on defense. You have to account for him on any given play,” Schumann said Friday. “It opens up a lot of those plays we're talking about with Riley Leonard, where he extends plays and can throw the ball down the field that way. He does that. You have to account for him in your rush when you're playing certain coverages.”
So, even though Georgia will not be changing its offense, Schumann said Stockton’s ability to extend plays with his legs should serve the Bulldogs well.
Defensive end Mykel Williams said Stockton’s knowledge of the offense is evident.
“Gunner’s got a calm, steady hand. I feel like Gunner has the team behind him right now. We believe in his ability,” Williams said. “We believe in his ability to come in and get the job done and do what we need. So, I guess I'll leave it at that.”
Linebacker Jalon Walker agreed.
While Walker cannot predict what will happen in the Sugar Bowl, the Butkus Award winner said Stockton will have plenty of confidence.
“Gunnar is a confident player,” Walker said. “He's confident in his skill set, and he's always determined to make the best plays possible for him, not only for himself but for our team.”
Safety Malaki Starks knows Stockton better than most.
The two were high school rivals, with Starks’ Jefferson High squad tangling with Stockton’s team at Rabun two times during their prep careers and three times before that.
“I've been playing against Gunner since I was five, I think. He beat me every year when we were little in rec league. I got him two times in high school. But, you know, he's always been that guy,” Starks said. “Since I've been growing up, he's always been the guy that, you know, we're going to play Rabun County, ah dang, we've got to play Gunner. That's just how it is. He's been sitting, putting his time in. He's been working while he was waiting, and now he gets a chance to go out there and prove what he can do. I believe in him 100 percent."
After quarterbacking the Bulldogs in the second half of the SEC Championship to help lead Georgia to its win over Texas, that belief has grown even more.
“I mean, he's the guy that you want to lead, to get behind. A lot of guys have confidence in him. I think you saw it during the game in the SEC, a bunch of guys believed in him,” Starks said. “He's easy to follow. But he also puts the work in and he wants to be better. Like, every day, like, he's asking questions. Like, you can see where he wants to go with it. I think that's a big thing that everybody loves to see out of him.”
If Stockton is able to replicate what he does in practice, Schumann feels the first-time starter will perform just fine.
“That’s a big part of playing quarterback nowadays, making the defense play honest,” Schumann said. “I think that's the biggest thing about Gunner, he's extremely competitive. He adds a dimension to the offense that y'all saw a little bit of in the past, and we've seen a lot of over the years.”
