Kirby Smart tries to tamp down pressure on Georgia QB Gunner Stockton
ATHENS — Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young compared Gunner Stockton’s game with that of current New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson.
In his prime, Wilson used his running skills to extend plays and push the ball down the field. Young made the comparison in a complimentary way.
The current version of Wilson is a far cry from that. In the Giants’ season-opening loss to Washington, Wilson completed 17 of his 37 pass attempts for 168 yards. New York did not score a touchdown.
“He’s explosive in practice,” Young said of Stockton. “I’ve seen him make unbelievable next-level plays. He has an unbelievable arm. I like to say he’s kind of like a Russell Wilson-type where he puts the ball in the air, and he just drops it in the bucket.”
Stockton was not that bad against Austin Peay on Saturday. but Georgia needs better play out of the junior quarterback as it opens SEC play Saturday against Tennessee (3:30 p.m., ABC).
“When we play defenses that are not allowing us to throw that, we’ve got to make sure you just don’t force it,” Young said. “We’ve got a great running game and just stay confident in yourself. It’s going to come eventually. We’ve got a long season ahead, and we’re going to have a successful season throwing the ball. So just stay confident, it’s going to come.”
Stockton wanted to review the videotape following Saturday’s performance, and really attack practice Monday. He threw for 227 yards on 26 of 34 passing attempts.
Much of that came near the line of scrimmage. His longest completion went for 19 yards, and Young was the only Georgia player with more than 35 receiving yards. He led the team with 76 receiving yards on seven receptions.
There are a variety of reasons why Georgia’s deep passing offense has emerged as an early-season concern for the Bulldogs. Georgia wants to be explosive, rather than relying on long drives to score.
Georgia ended the win over Austin Peay with a 17-play, 99-yard drive. But the Bulldogs can’t expect to replicate that formula against a salty Tennessee defense.
“You gotta prevent turnovers, but you also have to have the ability to throw it down the field and hit some shots and be explosive,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “But I don’t think that would keep you from doing and thinking about turnovers.”
Stockton has not yet turned the ball over in either start this season. He also hasn’t been sacked.
But that does not mean the play on the offensive has been sterling. Injuries to Earnest Greene and Juan Gaston put Jah Jackson and Michael Uini into the starting lineup. Georgia also saw Bo Hughley and Dontrell Glover play significant snaps in the second half.
Greene seems to be in better shape heading into Saturday’s game against Tennessee. Smart would have a better idea about his offensive line following Monday’s practice.
“It’s been a rotating kinda deal all throughout camp. We’ve had guys in and out of the lineup during camp that has made us kinda platoon that side,” Smart said. “We’ve even flipped Monroe (Freeling) and flipped Micah (Morris) over to that side at times.”
Sorting out the offensive line should give Stockton more confidence to stand in the pocket and fire the ball downfield.
Not every pocket will be perfect, and Stockton has to find the right balance of playmaking.
“He just wants to be perfect,” Young said. “And we always tell him, like, ‘Nobody’s perfect in this world, Gunner, you’ll be all right.’ And he’s like, ‘No, I gotta get it. I gotta do this again.’ So just in his confidence and his wanting to be great, just instills in us to be like, we’ve gotta be better. We’ve gotta play up to his level and just keep him as confident as possible.”
Georgia knows it needs to be strong around Stockton to produce the explosive plays the Bulldogs have been lacking. The Bulldogs measure an explosive passing play as one that gains at least 16 yards.
Through the first two games, Stockton has accounted for only eight such gains. But one has to only look at the Notre Dame game, when Stockton connected with Arian Smith for a 67-yard gain to know he’s capable of making big throws.
Smart made it clear that all the pressure isn’t on Stockton to play well this week. Georgia still needs to run the ball well, while players on the perimeter make plays. Georgia’s defense continuing its strong start to the season against a Tennessee offense that scored 45 and 72 points to begin the season will perhaps be more paramount to success.
“So when we say we wanna see Gunner do that, see a carryover, it requires the 11 people doing exactly what they did in practice for him to have success,” Smart said. “Because in an offensive unit, one guy can mess up, and that ruins that entire play.”
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.
