Kirby Smart is making it easier for Gunner Stockton to succeed for Georgia
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
ATHENS — The probability that Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton can succeed is shifting in his favor without him barely lifting a finger.
From the end of last season forward, Bulldogs coaches have been committed to improving the run game. They recognized the shortcoming last year but have now had the offseason and preseason camp to address it.
Coach Kirby Smart brought it up last week in his remarks as camp opened. And offensive coordinator Mike Bobo affirmed it Wednesday in his media availability at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall in one of the rare opportunities that he and other Bulldogs assistant coaches can speak with media.
“Everything starts with the run game,” Bobo said. “At any level, you’ve got to be able to run the ball and stop the run, and that’s been an emphasis of ours ever since we got back from the Sugar Bowl, started meeting as a staff and meeting with our players — how can we improve in that area?”
A year ago, Georgia ranked 102nd in FBS in total rushing, at 124.4 yards per game, per cfbstats.com. More pertinent to Smart, the play-to-play efficiency did not meet his standard. The Bulldogs tied for 84th at 4.06 yards per attempt. It was a pronounced drop-off from the three previous seasons — 5.26 in 2021 (14th), 5.53 in 2022 (fifth) and 5.34 in 2023 (11th).
In their three losses — at Alabama, at Ole Miss and versus Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff — Georgia ran 88 times for 201 yards, 2.3 yards per carry.
“Hopefully, our identity will be, we will be efficient in the run game, and everything will run through that,” Bobo said.
Bobo gave a specific example of how he has seen running back Nate Frazier (133 rushes for 671 yards last season) already contribute to that improvement in only a week of preseason practice. Last season, Frazier had a prevailing mindset of trying to break runs for big gains rather than understanding that, on some plays, it’s better to just follow the play design and accept a shorter gain rather than bounce it to the outside and risk a loss.
“That’s something, in the first six practices, you’ve seen an improvement of Nate being willing to stick it in there and get the dirty yards,” Bobo said.
Speaking after an event for his family foundation held in the team’s indoor practice facility, where Smart and his wife, Mary Beth, thanked this year’s recipients of nearly $350,000 in grants for their charitable endeavors across the state, Smart said the goal is to average more than five yards per carry.
So back to Stockton, at the helm of the offense for the first time in succession of Carson Beck, now at Miami. You’ll remember Stockton as the quiet quarterback from Rabun County in northeast Georgia who led the Bulldogs to victory in the SEC championship game after subbing in for an injured Beck.
What does an improved run game mean for him?
“I think that’s obvious,” Smart said. “He doesn’t have to have the pressure of third-and-7 to 10 every down. It frees things up; it opens up your play-action. I mean, all the obvious things.”
Something that also has become obvious in Smart’s nine seasons leading the Bulldogs: If he makes a priority of something, chances are good that it’s going to come to pass. Count on a big season for Frazier.
As for Stockton, it can be reasonably assumed that, if he has risen to the level of starting quarterback for Smart, he has a lot of ability and toughness.
But does he have the intangible “it” quality? Can he be counted on to lead a two-minute drive with the game on the line in Neyland Stadium? Can he convert a must-have fourth-and-long against Alabama? Can he win a shootout with Texas and Arch Manning?
Those around him say the right things. He’s liked by teammates. He’s a hard worker who prepares well. He has gotten better since spring practice. He’s got a big arm. He demonstrated his willingness to fight for tough yards, even to his potential detriment.
“His makeup and his mentality sometimes is, I’m going to go get everything,” Bobo said. “And there’s a time and a place for that.”
But his performances against Texas and the loss to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl were hardly conclusive. And while he’s surely a capable quarterback, Georgia needs more than that to meet its national-championship aspirations.
But the more Georgia can run effectively — whether it’s Frazier behind tackles Monroe Freeling and Earnest Greene III or ballyhooed transfer running back Josh McCray or Stockton himself on keepers — the less he’ll have to carry that burden.
It’s way too early for any sort of answer on Stockton. But, for the Bulldogs, it’s at least going in the right direction.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
