There is no way around it. Gunner Stockton marveled in his first career home start for the Georgia Bulldogs. He completed 14-of-24 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns, to go along with his 10 carries for 73 yards and two additional trips to pay dirt on the ground. While Georgia was able to bulldoze Marshall to the tune of 45-7 last Saturday, this one major receiving target was not a factor...
Of the 12 Georgia players who caught at least one pass from either Stockton or his backup Ryan Puglisi, Noah Thomas was not one of them. While he did play in the game, the Texas A&M transfer was mostly getting in his cardio during this late August game in the Northeast Georgia heat. His running mate Zachariah Branch had a field day vs. the Thundering Herd. Even Josh McCray had his first carry.
While putting up gaudy numbers vs. the Austin Peay Governors at home on Saturday afternoon is not going to mean all that much in the national pantheon, it would be a shame if Thomas was once again held without a catch to start his Georgia career. Simply, he cannot be an unknown commodity going into the Dawgs' first big game of the year. They will be facing a ranked Tennessee team in two weeks.
In three seasons at Texas A&M, Thomas amassed 73 catches for 984 yards and 15 touchdown grabs.
Noah Thomas must factor in the receiving game Week 2 vs. Austin Peay
This is not just about Thomas getting comfortable within the context of a new SEC offense, but rather making the Georgia passing game even harder to defend when facing conference foes such as Tennessee and Alabama. The Volunteers are expected to be down their two best corners in Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III in two weeks. Alabama is coming off a brutal road loss to Florida State.
Thomas has shown previously that he can get his yards within the context of a multi-facted Texas A&M offense. The Aggies almost always have a quarterback who can run the football in addition to throwing it. Look no further than the promising dual-threat play-making abilities Marcel Reed offers as a part of Collin Klein's Aggies offense. Being able to factor in Mike Bobo's scheme is not that hard.
Truth be told, it is still a whole lot of new for Georgia offensively this year. It was Stockton's second career start. Guys like Branch and McCray are new to this team as well, in addition to Thomas. It was a blowout victory for the Dawgs, so getting in and out without any big injuries was at the top of the list for Georgia's priorities. That being said, Dawg Nation has to see Stockton complete one to Thomas.
If he can haul in at least one big catch, everyone should feel a lot more confident ahead of Tennessee.