The quarterback battle at Georgia rages on, and some are happy with head coach Kirby Smart's potential decision to name Gunner Stockton the starter for Week 1, while others are not so much. Of course, SEC analyst Paul Finebaum falls under the list of people who are not happy about the choice of Stockton as the starter.
As always, Finebaum is making his opinions on Georgia very well known, and after already saying he feels the Bulldogs are not going to be dominant this season, he is doubling down on it now with the Stockton decision. The choice of Stockton worries Finebaum because he believes the quarterback isn't ready for the moment and that while it is not all on Stockton, he can only take the Bulldogs so far.
"I’m just worried about him at this moment," Finebaum said. "He is well loved by his teammates, that’s what I hear from the team, but can he handle the moment?"
It is true that Stockton struggled against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl and that he struggled when he took over for the injured Carson Beck. However, it is all different now; he has had a whole offseason of feeling like he will be the guy to lead this team. He is no longer the backup, wondering when he will get put in; he is the one leading the charge and has done the work to do so.
Kirby Smart seems confident in Gunner Stockton so everyone else should be too
When Smart talked about Stockton taking over the starting role, it all came down to what he expects of the Tiger, Georgia native.
Decision making.
"Make good decisions," Smart said. "Continue to develop and understand situational football."
Smart made a great point of saying that football has become way too complicated for quarterbacks nowadays, so making things simple and easy, and knowing the down and distance and what is going to work is where it all needs to start for Stockton.
If Smart didn't believe that Stockton was capable of running this team, he would have selected him as the starter.