Georgia’s Stockton, Woodring earn SEC recognition for play against Tennessee
ATHENS — Georgia had a number of players come through in the clutch Saturday during the Bulldogs’ 44-41 win over Tennessee.
The SEC recognized two members of the team for their excellence, as Gunner Stockton was named the Offensive Player of the Week, and Peyton Woodring took Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Stockton threw for a career-high 304 yards in the win over the Volunteers. He threw for two touchdown passes while rushing for another.
His best play on the afternoon came on a 28-yard pass to London Humphreys to pull Georgia within two in the fourth quarter. That the pass came on fourth down makes the throw even more impressive.
“He’s so tough. I mean, he takes shot after shot,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “You know, I thought he did a good job with the run game — I’m talking about his run game. He saved us on a couple of third downs. In the red (zone) he made a couple runs. That plus-one run game can be big for us if he can protect himself. I thought he grew up tonight. He grew up a lot. He stood it in there. The fourth-down throw that he made was really good.”
Stockton next found an open Zachariah Branch to tie the score. Georgia did not need Stockton to attempt a pass in overtime.
Woodring was equally big in Georgia’s win, as he connected on all three of his field-goal attempts.
His longest make of the afternoon was from 48 yards out. Woodring now is 4-for-4 on field-goal attempts this season.
Woodring’s efforts were amplified after Tennessee kicker Max Gilbert missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt in the waning moments of the fourth quarter.
“I feel like it’s important to go out and do your job,” Woodring said after the game. “I get the job every time to go make the kicks. It’s good whenever you go out and make all your kicks. You did your job, so it was a good day.”
Georgia needed every bit of excellence from Stockton and Woodring to pull out the road win.
The Bulldogs are 3-0 on the season and ranked No. 5 in this week’s AP Poll. Georgia is off this weekend before welcoming No. 14 Alabama to Sanford Stadium on Sept. 27.
About the Author
Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
