So much has to go right for Georgia this year if they are going to win Kirby Smart's third National Championship. Arguably the one thing that is the most important though is Gunner Stockton's future as their starting quarterback.
Stockton had a phenominal season as a starter in 2025, but he needs to get a lot better this offseason to take the team to the next level. So while it can be easy for a returning starter to be complacent in the offseason, Stockton showed he is anything but that as he responded to Smart's urgent message in the best way possible during Georgia's practice on Thursday.
”Redshirt senior Gunner Stockton looked sharp. With a capital S,” Jeff Sentell said via dawgnation.com. “That’s to be expected, but he is clearly in the PhD phase of his Georgia football career.”
Gunner Stockton responded in the best way possible to Kirby Smart's urgent message
Jeff Sentell with DawgNation noticed something very important about Stockton during practice on Thursday. He saw that he looks as sharp as ever before and, in his words, is looking like he is getting his PhD in Georgia football.
That is exactly what Smart asked of Stockton earlier this week. He knows that Stockton is the leader of the entire team and that next season rests squarely on his shoulders. If Stockton can make a big leap this offseason then the sky is the limit for the team in the fall, and so far it is looking like he is doing everything he needs to do to accomplish that.
Stockton didn't need any more motivation this offseason. A recent interview proved that he can find all the motivation he needs inside of himself. But Smart challenged him earlier this week, and the first chance the media got to watch practice he made it clear that he listened to his coach.