Love him or hate him, all the guy does is win. When it comes to understanding and appreciating the game of Gunner Stockton, Georgia fans know what is up, while the rest of the college football world continues to discredit him. Is he a top-three quarterback in the game today? No, but can you really name 10 signal-callers better than him? One ESPN writer did name nine players that he likes more...
Here are the quarterbacks ESPN's David Hale has ranked ahead of Stockton entering this summer.
- Miami Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr
- Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss
- Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning
- Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin
- LSU Tigers quarterback Sam Leavitt
- Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore
- Oregon Ducks quarterback Dylan Raiola
- USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava
And here is who currently resides inside of "The Sean Clifford Zone" at the quarterback position...
- Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton
- Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Josh Hoover
- Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer
- Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht
- Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed
- Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier
Removing the gross outlier that is Dylan Raiola from the equation, Georgia fans should have a bone or two to pick with Hale over his rankings. While Trinidad Chambliss, Arch Manning, Dante Moore, and Julian Sayin all seem somewhat justifiable, outside of Sam Leavitt two years ago, who else ranked ahead of Stockton has even led his team to the College Football Playoff before? This list is so absurd!
Let's unpack a little bit more why Hale felt compelled to put Stockton into "The Sean Clifford Zone".
Gunner Stockton is once again not properly rated as a star college QB
Hale defines the tier Stockton and five others find themselves in as "The Sean Clifford Zone" because Clifford won a lot of games at Penn State, but never the big one. He was the epitome of good, but not great, playing for the better part of a decade under James Franklin. Hale cited Stockton's 0-2 record in the playoff as a ding against him, as well as his stats vs. Auburn, Florida, and Georgia Tech in 2025...
Since the playoff expanded from four to 12 teams, Georgia is one of four teams to qualify for it both times. The Dawgs have done so by winning the SEC both years over Texas and Alabama, respectively. Keep in mind that Carson Beck started nearly all of the games of the 2024-25 campaign. Should we really hold the Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame two Januarys ago against Stockton? That is so unfair...
While there may be some validity to him only averaging 5.6 yards per passing attempt vs. Georgia's three biggest rivals of Auburn, Florida, and Georgia Tech, he won all of those games, and not a single one of them was at Sanford Stadium... Winning rivalry games is not about lighting up the stats sheet, but making sure your team has one more point than the other guys as soon as the clock strikes zero.
Read more: Greg Sankey just eliminated Kirby Smart’s biggest fear of CFP expansion
Overall, Stockton should be at least one tier higher in the "Are you not entertained?" grouping. Being compared favorably to Leavitt, Dante Moore, and Jayden Maiava seems far more appropriate than having Stockton just ahead of the idea that is Josh Hoover, the inherently reckless John Mateer, and the far less polished of a passer in Marcel Reed. Those guys can all play, but none are like Stockton...
Ultimately, Stockton and the rest of the Georgia staff are going to use this as motivation. In only his first season as a starter, Stockton got markedly better as a passer from in and around the pocket. He is already turning heads with how the fast the football looks coming out during his offseason workout videos. We might be getting ahead of ourselves here, but Stockton plays a lot like Cam Newton did...
Thankfully, Stockton will have a full array of games to show everyone in college football he is so elite.
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