Can Gunner Stockton provide Georgia with 'better play' to win a national championship
With the start of the 2026 college football season nearing, the Georgia Bulldogs will first head south to Tampa Bay, Florida for SEC Media Days and then return home and begin preparing for a season in which they hope will conclude with a third national championship under head coach, Kirby Smart.
And while many preseason polls consider the Bulldogs a team which should be highly competitive this season, quarterback Gunner Stockton, has been under some scrutiny in regards to being able to maintain a high enough level of play throughout the season to help Georgia find themselves atop the college football world by season’s end.
“Gunner Stockton last season, I think was largely good. He played well, he finished seventh in Heisman trophy voting,” Connor Riley of Dawg Nation and the AJC.com said as he joined 92-9 The Game’s Carl Dukes and Mike Bell and explained why he believes Stockton may not be at the center of many preseason conversations.
“I think part of the reason underrated, maybe under discussed going into this season is because he did not end last year playing well. He was outright bad against Georgia Tech to end the season and then he didn’t necessarily play great Alabama or Ole Miss,” Riley said of Stockton’s performances in Georgia’s final three games of last season.
“He just sort had an ending that was kind of ‘eh’ and I think it left people wanting more and I think that carried into the offseason and the way that he has been discussed and is viewed going into this upcoming season,” Riley said. “There’s a lot of people that think Georgia can’t win because of Gunner Stockton. I don’t believe that, but I do believe if Georgia is going to win a national championship this year, he’s got to play a lot better at the end of the year than he did in 2025,” Riley said.Gunner Stockton looks to quiet doubters and lead Georgia to a nation title
Gunner Stockton looks to quiet doubters and lead Georgia to a nation title
