Georgia fans have put every expectation possible on Gunner Stockton's shoulders this offseason. He already had a phenominal first season as a starter, and now that he is back for another year the sky is the limit for the Bulldogs with him at quarterback.
Georgia fans expect Stockton and UGA to compete for a National Championship. Not only do they expect it, but most believe they can actually do it. The consensus from the college football world outside of Athens however is that Stockton still isn't quite good enough to lead Georgia to a national title.
CBS Sports however does not agree as they have all the faith in the world in Stockton just like Georgia fans.
“Ultra-competitive as a durable, throwback sort of signal-caller, Stockton's play last fall led to a conference championship and top-four seed in the CFP with the Bulldogs,” Brad Crawford said via cbssports.com. “His 84.9 QBR was sixth-best nationally and he managed five wins as a first-year starter against ranked teams, including Texas, Georgia Tech and Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Stockton's 10 rushing touchdowns led the team.”
CBS Sports proves to be a believer in Gunner Stockton
Brad Crawford with CBS Sports was very impressed with Stockton last season. He witnessed Stockton play well against the best teams on their schedule like Texas, Alabama and Georgia Tech, and that is why he has a lot of confidence in him. In fact, he has so much confidence that he believes he is the seventh best Power Four QB in the country and third best in the SEC.
If Stockton plays like he did last season then Georgia will have another great year. They could even win the SEC and earn a top seed in the College Football Playoff just like last season. But expectations are much higher than that, and if Georgia is going to achieve those lofty goals then Stockton will need to play much better than last year.
The good news is that Stockton has shown already this spring that he is taking the offseason very seriously, so at this point it seems likely that he will be a much better player this year compared to last.