Gunner Stockton's Heisman campaign is beginning to feel more in reach

Gunner Stockton has a lot of doubters entering his second season as Georgia's full time starter. He may have a few believers in him, but for the most part the national media don't believe he is good enough to win the Heisman or a National Championship for Georgia.

There is no chance that Stockton cares at all what anyone else thinks, but Georgia fans certainly will. They want to see their quarterback make a serious run at the Heisman Trophy because if that happens then that most likely means Georgia is having a great season.

The good news for fans is that On3 analyst JD Pickell just predicted that Stockton will be a Heisman finalist this season.

On3 gives Gunner Stokton's Heisman campaign the boost it desperately needed

Stetson Bennett was the last Bulldog to be a Heisman finalist. That coincidentally was the last time Georgia not only won a National Championship but won even one playoff game, so one way for Georgia to fix their playoff problems might just be to have a Hesiman level quarterback.

Stockton could be that player for Georgia this season.

Last year Stockton finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting. That isn't good enough to be invited to the ceremony, but it shows that he was already close to being a true contender in the Heisman race. So in reality it isn't that wild to suggest that he could be a finalist this season, but it may not be likely for him to actually win it.

Gunner Stockton winning the Heisman isn't as realistic as Georgia fans may hope

There are some coaches out there who want their players to win the Heisman. They will go out of their way to run their stats up even when the game is already over, and the only explanation for that is because they want them to win the Heisman.

Smart would love to see Stockton win the Heisman or make it to the ceremony, but he’s not someone to go out of his way to make it happen. And Stockton likely wouldn’t want that either.

One thing hurting Stockton’s Heisman campaign is that Georgia’s run game will be strong this year. Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens are too talented at running back to not give a lot of touches. Every touch they get is one less opportunity for Stockton to pad his stats, and Smart likely wants to feed his running backs as much as he can.

Stockton also has to improve from last year if he’s going to seriously contend for the Heisman too. He specifically has to improve with his deep ball, and if that doesn’t happen then he won’t stand a chance to win the Heisman.

At the end of the day it truly doesn’t matter if Stockton wins the Heisman or not as long as Georgia has a good season. But Stockton making a run at the Heisman would mean Georgia is having a good year, so the more people that push his campaign the better.

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