David Pollack is known as one of the best players in Georgia football history, and when he speaks about the Bulldogs, everyone listens. Before SEC Media Days, Pollack talked about all the teams attending, and of course, with Georgia going first, he spoke on the Bulldogs right away.
Right away, Pollack attacked the Gunner Stockton question in the room. Very outright and without any hesitation, Pollack believes that Stockton won't be able to lead the Bulldogs back to where they were last season if the team doesn't make any changes, pointing to the run game.
In the 2024 season, Georgia had their worst run game in over 20 years, with the Bulldogs rushing for 1,742 yards as a whole, which is less than Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty had in his 2024 season alone. Georgia's top rusher was Nate Frazier, who only rushed for 671 yards and eight rushing touchdowns, followed by Trevor Etienne with 609 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns.
The run game has always been a strong aspect of Georgia's offense, especially with quarterbacks that may not be as elite as some others in college football. Pollack believes that because Stockton is like those other quarterbacks, he needs the help of the run game, because if he is having to drop back to throw 30 or 40 times in a game, then Stockton is going to struggle, and the Bulldogs are going to lose.
Now, this isn't to say that Pollack doesn't like Stockton and thinks he is going to fail; there is a lot he actually likes about the Georgia quarterback. However, he is also being real and knowing there are a lot of new components on this team this season, including three new offensive linemen and new wide receivers.
David Pollack believes a run game is crucial to Georgia's success in 2025
Georgia has had some pretty great running backs in the past, from Todd Gurley to Nick Chubb to D'Andre Swift. So, to have such a great history of a solid run game and then it falls off the face of the Earth last season is tough to overcome and was a key reason why Georgia wasn't able to win a National Championship last season.
In order for Georgia to find the success they have had in years past again, they have to find a way to get the run game back in order to take pressure off of the quarterback, whether it is Stockton or Ryan Puglisi.
Pollack said it himself that if Georgia's run game doesn't return this year, the Bulldogs could be in for a long season.