Auburn head coach Alex Golesh isn’t pretending there’s an easy answer for Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton.
In his first media availability before Saturday afternoon’s Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry matchup, Golesh made it plain he sees Stockton as the kind of quarterback who can unravel a defense in a hurry. That means the Tigers are staring at a Week 7 problem built on timing, poise and the ability to turn broken plays into something bigger.
“As we prep for Georgia, number one team in the country, and you watch it, all three phases, certainly look that way,” Golesh said. “Offensively, man, the quarterback is a really, really good player, makes a lot of things go, doesn’t make a ton of mistakes.
“You could tell (he’s) a veteran guy that’s played in the system that gets the ball to the right places, can move it with his feet, can escape in a lot of ways.”
That’s the kind of evaluation that cuts through the usual pregame language. Golesh wasn’t hiding the fact that Stockton can hurt Auburn both when the play breaks cleanly and when it falls apart.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, meanwhile, pointed his attention to Byrum Brown and Auburn’s offense, emphasizing the Tigers’ vertical passing game and physical style.
"People want to make it about passing, and they do have a lot of good passes, and they have tempo. They get a lot of plays, but they’re physical.
They’re physical at the point of attack. When you watch the games I watched yesterday on them, you immediately see those same pillars of his program, being able to throw the ball vertical down the field and being physical at the point of attack.
They’ve got a guy that can do that at quarterback," Smart said.
Golesh’s concern with Stockton makes sense when you line up the matchup. Auburn’s defense is built to create pressure, generating 19.8 pressures per game, with rushers often attacking the A- and B-gaps. But Georgia’s strength is right where Auburn likes to squeeze, and center Drew Bobo is one of the best at his position in the country and in the SEC.
Even if Auburn does get a hand on Stockton, that may not be enough. His 2.41-second average time to throw means the ball is often gone before pressure has time to land. Georgia also thrives on screens behind the line of scrimmage, another way to punish an aggressive front.
And if the pocket does collapse, Stockton brings a second layer of danger. He can slip rushers, extend plays and take off for extra yardage when the passing game isn’t there.
Golesh is not the one charged with stopping Stockton - that belongs to DJ Durkin and the defense. But with star linebacker Xavier Atkins suspended and out for Saturday’s game, a rough outing on that side would still come back on the head coach’s doorstep.
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