While competition can bring out the best in everyone, having less of it makes some things quite obvious. When it comes to the case of Gunner Stockton, the Georgia Bulldogs star is already one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Anyone who saw him play last year can attest to that. However, his path to being in the SEC Player of the Year conversation just became so much clearer this week...
With the NCAA ruling against granting former Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss another year of eligibility, that effectively removes one of the biggest competitors Stockton would have had in that regard. Yes, it does stink for Ole Miss, and college football as a whole, to not have Chambliss around any more. However, it will give guys like Stockton even longer runway this season.
Stockton will have stiff competition for the right to be the best quarterback in the SEC. Whether it be Arch Manning at Texas, Marcel Reed at Texas A&M, a newcomer like Sam Leavitt at LSU, or somebody else entirely, that remains to be seen. What is important to know is guys like Diego Pavia, Ty Simpson, and now Chambliss will not be playing college football next fall. These guys were all-conference stars.
Not only does Chambliss being gone raise Stockton's stock, but it makes the Ole Miss game easier.
Gunner Stockton might be the best returning quarterback in the SEC now
People may not want to admit this, but what Stockton did last year at Georgia cannot be discredited. Pavia won SEC Player of the Year and finished as the runner-up to Fernando Mendoza for the Heisman Trophy. Winning 10 games at a place like Vanderbilt will do that for you. With Simpson off to the NFL, and Chambliss reluctantly, both All-SEC Second-Teamers are no longer in Stockton's way.
Yes, Manning has a last name. Yes, Leavitt did extraordinary things two years ago at Arizona State. And yes, Reed can really play vs. the bottom-half of the SEC. However, Stockton did more than enough last season in his first year as the starter at Georgia. He may be a lovable playmaker, but for some reason, people are going to want to put others like Manning ahead of him. That is what it is, y'all.
So yes, Chambliss being ruled to be without any more eligibility opens up clearer pathways for guys like Leavitt, Manning, Reed, and Stockton to get what is theirs and then some, en route to being the best quarterback in the SEC. Truth be told, the body of work in this league does favor Stockton tremendously. Manning and Reed are inconsistent players, while Leavitt has never played in the SEC.
For now, there is one less excellent college football star around in the SEC to steal Stockton's shine.