It may only be coming against the depleted Marshall Thundering Herd, but the Georgia Bulldogs seem to have another good one under center in Gunner Stockton. The first-year starter has been with the team the last four years, biding his time for this big moment. While he did play down the stretch last year once Carson Beck got hurt, 2025 was always going to be the year he took over.
Early in the first half of their Week 1 home game vs. Marshall, Stockton looked like a fearless veteran leader akin to Stetson Bennett IV. The combination of run and throw had all of Dawg Nation chomping at the bit to see him do more. Keep in mind this is only his second career start, but you can already sense the level of confidence he is playing with in Mike Bobo's offense. It is a great thing for Georgia.
There will be time to iron the kinks out this week and next before the huge road game at Tennessee.
Gunner Stockton seems to be living up to the hype in his first home start
What resonated the most about his early-game success vs. Marshall was his willingness to let his teammates get involved. Georgia will be at its best when the offense is able to score in a multitude of ways. Although the Dawgs may be more run than throw this year, the right kind of ball control seems to be at work here. The more space the ground game can create for the receivers, the better it will be.
Here is Stockton pointing at the Thundering Herd defender who missed him whilst hitting pay dirt.
Stockton for 6️⃣#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/b2FIWigPO8
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) August 30, 2025
While he does need to get more precise as a passer, the ever-present threat of him to run will keep opposing teams' defenses on their toes all season long. This was illustrated once again on his second rushing touchdown on the afternoon after an incredibly short field was set up by a KJ Bolden blocked punt. Stockton has the Dawgs playing with confidence, and everybody in Athens seems to know this.
We are looking at conductor in Bobo's system not far from Bennett running Todd Monken's offense.
What Gunner Stockton needs to do to have success during SEC play
It is important to understand that Marshall is not the same team it was a season ago. Because of a contractural breakdown, former Thundering Herd head coach Charles Huff up and left for a far worse job in Southern Miss. He took many of his former players with him. In came former North Carolina State defensive coordinator and West Virginia native Tony Gibson to pick up the pieces this season...
There will be teams Georgia will be going up against that will not break contain defensively at all. Tennessee impressed in the Volunteers' first game of the season in Atlanta vs. the Syracuse Orange as part of the Aflac Kickoff games. Alabama may be ushering in a new quarterback as well in Ty Simpson, but the Crimson Tide have had the Dawgs' number for the better part of two decades now.
Overall, it is nice to see a new starting quarterback have the trust and faith of his teammates. There were moments when Carson Beck would rise up and find ways to win. However, he was far too turnover prone for many in Dawg Nation's tastes. For now, Georgia needs to continue playing with confidence in all three phases, regardless of the opponent. This has still be a pleasant surprise so far.
His day may not be done just yet, but Stockton seems to have passed his first home start already.