Gunner Stockton’s Growth Fuels Georgia Ahead of Sugar Bowl Clash with Ole Miss
NEW ORLEANS - A year ago, Gunner Stockton was just trying to keep his head above water. Now, he’s steering the ship.
When Georgia takes the field Thursday night against Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal, it won’t be the same quarterback who made his first career start in this very stadium last postseason. That version of Stockton was raw, thrown into the fire in a tough loss to Notre Dame.
This version? He’s battle-tested, confident, and quietly becoming one of the most reliable playmakers in college football.
“It’s crazy how much I’ve grown in a year,” Stockton said during Sugar Bowl media day at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel.
He’s not wrong. Stockton’s development has been one of the most consistent - and crucial - narratives in Georgia’s 12-1 season. And if the Bulldogs are going to keep marching through the playoff bracket, it’ll be on the back of a quarterback who’s grown from promising prospect into a poised leader.
Stockton already has one win over Ole Miss under his belt this season, a 43-35 comeback thriller that saw Georgia shut the door in the fourth quarter. In that game, Stockton was lights-out when it mattered most - going a perfect 12-for-12 for 135 yards and three touchdowns in the second half. That’s not just clutch, that’s elite.
But don’t expect Georgia to lean too heavily on that regular-season win. Head coach Kirby Smart has made it clear: this is a new game, a new challenge. Stockton echoed that mindset.
“You can’t transfer a win or anything like that,” he said. “It’s a whole separate game. It’s a one-game season now.”
That “one-game season” mentality is exactly where Stockton thrives these days. The former Rabun County High School star - who left with state records in passing touchdowns (177), total touchdowns (254), and total yards (18,024) - now has a full season of starts in an offense tailored to his strengths. And the difference in his play shows.
“Just the confidence - I feel like I help the team in that way compared to last year,” Stockton said. “I didn’t have that much confidence or many games played under my belt. So just going through a full season and getting to play in this venue, it’s going to be an unreal experience.”
Stockton’s confidence isn’t just self-belief - it’s contagious. His teammates feel it. They feed off it.
“You get a guy that is the same every day,” said right tackle Earnest Greene III. “He’s consistent, never too high, never too low.
Not a roller coaster ride with Gunner. That’s the recipe for success, the recipe for growth.”
Left tackle Monroe Freeling took it a step further.
“He’s a field general,” Freeling said. “When you get to games, completely different person.
You see probably like 30, 40 percent of it in practice. But you get to the game, he flips the switch, and he’s a general out there yelling at anybody and everybody.”
That kind of leadership doesn’t happen overnight. It’s earned - through reps, through adversity, through ownership of the huddle.
Stockton has all of that now. And it’s not just his teammates noticing.
“He’s a veteran guy, he’s got a lot of competitive character, you can see it on tape,” said Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding. “You can tell the guys around him play really hard for him. He’s got a really good demand of the huddle, so yeah, it’s going to be really tough.”
Stockton isn’t caught up in the hype or the headlines. He’s not chasing redemption for last year’s loss or basking in the glow of a Heisman-voting nod. He’s focused on one thing: the next snap.
“I’m just glad we’re playing in the playoffs, really,” he said. “It didn’t matter where it was … I’m just excited to be here.”
And Georgia is glad he’s here too - not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and competitively. Because this isn’t the same Gunner Stockton who walked into the Superdome last year. This one’s ready to lead.