The last person Georgia wanted to get injured unfortunately got banged up this spring. Kirby Smart confirmed earlier this week that Gunner Stockton suffered a minor leg injury that has limited him in practice for the last few weeks.
The good news is that his injury wasn’t severe, so he will be back to full health soon and a full participant in practice any day now. But seeing him get injured is still really scary because it’s a reminder of how bad next season could go if he got hurt during the year.
However, there is one good thing that came from Stockton’s injury as all of his backups got more reps in practice while he was recovering.
Georgia finds unusual benefit from Gunner Stockton's injury
Georgia has four backup quarterbacks behind Stockton on the depth chart. This includes second stringer Ryan Puglisi, redshirt freshmen Ryan Montgomery and Hezekiah Millender and true freshman Bryson Beaver.
It can be hard to find enough reps for four backup quarterbacks even in the spring, but with Stockton sidelined this was Smart's chance to give them all a lot more reps.
These extra reps are most important for Puglisi who is the first backup on the depth chart. If something were to happen to Stockton during the season he would be called on to step in and take control of the offense. So his development this offseason is just as important as Stockton's.
The other three quarterbacks likely will not see any meaningful snaps during the season. That doesn't mean their development isn't very important though because they are all building for the future. Maybe they will be Georgia's starter at some point or maybe they will be the second stringer some day too, so these extra reps are huge for their progression as well.
Stockton however needs as many reps as he can get to improve before the season begins. That is why his injury is so tough to see, but even if that was the worst case scenario it is nice that every other quarterback is getting some more reps now.