The Gunner Stockton confidence meter is as divided as its ever been

How do Georgia fans and the media covering Gunner Stockton feel about the presumed second-year starter? That really depends on who you ask, and when you ask it.

When you're talking about college quarterbacks, you're never going to find a fanbase and media circle who are completely all in on a particular player, there are always stragglers with doubts or questions.

But when it comes to Gunner Stockton, the camp is so severly split it almost feels artificially generated. There seems to be no middle ground - either you love Stockton and feel he's the guy to lead Georgia to the next national title, or you think he's just a rag-armed scrub and Kirby Smart needs to wake up to his shortcomings.

Last season, the narrative was "He's better than Carson Beck, let's see how he handles a full season of starting". But even after leading Georgia to another SEC Championship and a College Football Playoff berth, the belief in Stockton seemed to wain rather than grow.

Georgia fans can be harsh, even fickle at times, but this phenomenon over Stockton is unlike anything seen from the Bulldog Nation. Even the media feels split down the middle.

The line of demarcation with fans seems to be even more pronounced. There's the love...

And then there's the unabashed hate...

What's the truth about Gunner Stockton's value as a QB?

Which side of the Gunner Stockton debate is right? Is the truth somewhere more in the middle? Does offensive coordinator Mike Bobo need to take some blame if Stockton isn't living up to his potential?

All good questions, with no easy answers. What we do know about Gunner Stockton is this:

• He's clutch, especially in the 4th quarter.
• He's tough, dude can take a hit like few quarterbacks can.
• He's smart, he doesn't make many dumb mistakes.
• He's dangerous with his legs, he can scramble and improvise to make plays happen.
• He's the ultimate teammate, never cares about his own success more than the team.

All of those things spell out the kind of guy you'd think you want starting at quarterback for your team. The drawbacks? Yeah there are a few:

• He doesn't play "sexy", rarely are his throws highlight reel material.
• He's smallish, has a lot of balls batted down at the line of scrimmage.
• His deep ball accuracy is inconsistent, not really considered a "threat" to chuck it downfield at any time.
• His mechanics are a bit awkward at times (although, apparently he's worked on that this offseason)

So it's not that he's the perfect quarterback, but if you look at those traits, both good and bad, it seems like to any one really watching, the good far outweighs the bad.

Yet here we sit, with about 90 days left until the 2026 football season kicks off, and the Bulldog Nation and media can't seem to agree that Gunner Stockton is the right man to take the Bulldogs back to the national title game and another trophy.

It may take a Bennett-like season complete with a Dr. Pepper Trophy, a fat stogie, and a long pull on a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle for the narrative to swing in Stockton's favor.

My money is on Gunner.

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