Georgia expects to win a National Championship every season. It will take a team effort for them to accomplish that this year, but Gunner Stockton is the one player who will have the greatest impact on accomplishing that goal.
That can probably be said about any quarterback on a team that will contend for a National Championship, but for Stockton it is especially true as he needs to greatly improve on his deep ball if Georgia's offense is going to improve this season.
Thankfully it looks like his deep ball has improved this offseason as he demonstrated with one throw at the Manning Passing Academy this weekend.
It looks like Gunner made it to the Manning Passing Academy after all pic.twitter.com/QnarMuRpdC
— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) June 27, 2026
Gunner Stockton's arm will make or break Georgia's season
There are a few things about Stockton that no one can question. His toughness is second to none and his running ability is about as good as it comes for a quarterback. Stockton's leadership qualities are also exactly what Georgia is looking for as well.
His throwing however needed to get a lot better before this season though.
Too many times last year Stockton's arm prevented Georgia's offense from reaching their potential. Their running game was solid and Stockton was being efficient with short passes, but whenever he took a deep shot it never seemed to work out.
That however may not occur as much this year based on the throw in the video above. Sure this was just one throw in a glorified practice, but he dropped that ball in a perfect spot for the receiver to make a play. This receiver somehow dropped the ball, but that won't happen with Georgia's recivers this fall.
It's impossible to say that Stockton has eliminated all doubt about who he is a passer with this one throw, but it's clear that he is improving and that is all anyone can really ask for during the offseason.
What does Georgia need from Gunner Stockton to win a National Championship?
As mentioned, Georgia expects to win a National Championship every season, and that won't be any different this year. In order for that to happen Georgia will need the best version of Stockton.
Stockton doesn't need to be a perfect quarterback though. There is plenty of talent around him on both sides of the ball that can help Georgia win, so he doesn't need to feel like it is all on him this year. At the same time though he does need to be a lot better than he was last year if Georgia is going to win a National Championship.
This pressure however is unlikely to get to Stockton. Throughout his career as Georgia's starter he has never blinked when facing a difficult situation. Whether it was replacing Carson Beck in the 2024 SEC Championship game or facing massive deficits against Tennessee and Auburn last season, he always responded the way Georgia would want their leader and star quarterback to respond.
As long as he continues to respond to adversity like he has and improves his throwing then Georgia should keep expecting to compete for championships this year. And who knows, maybe he will become one of the best quarterbacks in the country like most Georgia fans know is possible.
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