Gunner Stockton dispels major conspiracy during Tennessee win

Gunner Stockton is off to an electric start this season for Georgia. However, just one week ago college football fans (Georgia included) were wondering if he was even able to throw the deep ball or not.

Srockton is partially to blame for this conspiracy because of his unwillingness to throw the deep ball against Austin Peay. There were countless time where he had a receiver open down the field, but he failed to take advantage of those opportunities.

After seeing him struggle against Austin Peay, many fans and analysts alike didn’t think he could get it done against a great team like Tennessee, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, Stockton was about as good as possible with his deep ball on Saturday as he completed six of nine passes for one touchdown and a 95.9 passing grade on throws that went over 10 yards.

Gunner Stockton’s arm has woken up

No one has ever doubted Stockton’s running ability, but his running ability alone would never be good enough to excel in the SEC. So the consensus always was that Stockton could be one of the best QBs in the country if he could find a passing game that matched his running game, and Saturday he showed glimpses of how special of a player he can be in UGA’s win over Tennessee.

Overall Stockton finished with 304 passing yards, a 74 percent completion rate, two touchdowns, zero interceptions and another rushing touchdown as well. But it’s his success he found with his deep ball that is most exciting for Georgia fans.

Any SEC quarterback can complete simple screen passes or check downs, but what separates the elite QBs from their average counterparts is a deep ball. Stockton still has a long way to go to prove he’s consistent with his deep ball, but if he continues spinning the ball like he did against Tennessee then he’s going to be a major problem for any team Georgia faces.

And who knows, maybe he’ll be able to work his way into the Hesiman conversation as the season progresses.