Georgia football is gearing up for their biggest game of the season in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against Notre Dame. Unfortunately for Georgia, they have to do so without starting QB Carson Beck who is out for the season.
However, as Gunner Stockton showed in the second half of the SEC Championship game against Texas, the Bulldogs are still more than capable of beating a good team and advancing in the CFP.
Stockton taking over for Beck has become one of the biggest talking points in all of college football over the last few days. So much so that former Alabama head coach Nick Saban weighed in on the discussion and shared what his relationship with Stockton is like.
Saban recruited Stockton to Alabama
"I've known this kid since he was 8 years old," Saban said via 247sports.com. "I watched him all through high school. We recruited him here. You know, he probably always wanted to go to Georgia."
A lot of Georgia fans have doubts surrounding Stockton and if he is good enough to lead Georgia to a National Championship. And while we won't find out if he is capable of that until UGA takes the field against Notre Dame this week, this quote from Saban should give Georgia fans a little bit of confidence.
There's no denying that Saban is the best college football coach of all time. So the fact that he attempted to recruit Stockton to Alabama shows how great of a player he is. At the end of the day, Stockton still has to prove it on the field, but even Saban was a believer in him in high school while he was being recruited.
On top of this fact, it sounds like Saban is even more of a believer in Stockton after his performance agaisnt Texas in the SEC Championship game as well.
Saban impressed with Stockton in the SEC Championship game
"They did not change their offensive strategy at all in the second half of the Texas game, and they actually moved the ball better in the second half than they did in the first," Saban shared. "I think they look like they showed confidence in the kid by the way they played. They weren't trying to protect him in the second half of the game."
Every Georgia fan was impressed with Stockton and what he showed in the second half against Texas, but at the end of the day we are all biased, so it is always nice to hear what others have to say about him. And Saban is as unbiased as it comes, and he loved what he saw from Stockton.
Saban points out that Georgia actually moved the ball a lot better on offense in the second half with Stockton compared to the first half with Beck. He also points out that they did so without changing their game plan all that much either.
It would be surprising to see Georgia not adjust their game plan going forward with Stockton as he does appear to be at his best when he's aggressively running the ball, but Saban is as big of a believer in Stockton as anyone. And that fact should give Georgia fans a lot of confidence heading into the Sugar Bowl.