Steve Spurrier sounds off on the Gunner Stockton Heisman Trophy hype
ATHENS — Gunner Stockton said he’s living a dream, and the current Heisman Trophy odds are providing evidence of such.
Stockton stands fourth among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, which is recognized as the most prestigious award in college football and has been awarded annually since 1935 to the top player.
The current Heisman Trophy odds, per DraftKings.com:
• Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) +700
• Dante Moore (Oregon) +850
• Carson Beck (Miami) +1200
• Gunner Stockton (Georgia) +1300
• Joey Aguilar (Tennessee) +1400
Steve Spurrier, a College Football Hall of Fame member who won the Heisman Trophy himself (1966) and coached a Heisman Trophy winner in Danny Wuerffel (1996) at Florida, said Stockton deserves all the recognition he’s getting.
“He should be up there, he deserves it, he’s playing better than he played last year,” Spurrier told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I was impressed with the young man in the Tennessee game. He rose to the occasion. He didn’t hesitate, his passes were quick. Last year he’d wind up and get hit all the time, and now he gets it out.”
Stockton was 23-of-31 passing for 304 yards and two touchdown passes and rushed for 38 yards and another touchdown against Tennessee — which is 23-3 in its past 26 home games, with all three of those losses coming to Georgia.
Spurrier, who holds a Heisman Trophy vote, said he would put Volunteers quarterback Joey Aguilar at the top of the list of SEC quarterbacks, followed by Stockton.
Aguilar passed for 371 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions in the loss to the Bulldogs, but could have emerged the winner of the game had Tennessee made a 43-yard field-goal attempt at the end of regulation.
Stockton has the opportunity to strengthen his resume against Alabama in a marquee showdown at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Sanford Stadium.
Former Georgia coach Mark Richt said Stockton’s fourth-down 28-yard touchdown pass with 2:32 remaining at Tennessee was the sort of play that boosts the momentum of a program.
“I think it’s a defining moment for him, and you need that belief from not only your teammates, but I think it also helps when the staff believes,” said Richt, who was the QB coach and offensive coordinator for Florida State’s Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke in 2000 before taking over as Georgia’s head coach after that season.
“It helps when the fan base believes, and the media believes that, ‘hey, this guy can do it.’”
The Heisman Trophy race remains wide-open at this stage of the season, particularly with last week’s favorite, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, undergoing surgery Wednesday to address a right-hand injury that will keep him sidelined in the coming weeks.
The Georgia-Alabama game is one of many that will have a direct effect on the Heisman Trophy race, as Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson ranks 11th among the quarterbacks at the top of the Heisman Trophy odds and could make a sizable jump.
As much as the Bulldogs will want to strengthen Stockton’s case with strong offensive performances, Georgia’s defense will look to derail several other quarterbacks on the Heisman Trophy-radar ahead on Georgia’s schedule.
The Bulldogs remaining schedule features matchups against Georgia Tech’s Haynes King (14th among QBs, +3000), Texas’ Arch Manning (14th among QBs, +3000) and Auburn’s Jackson Arnold (18th among QBs, +4000).
Twenty of the 25 Heisman Trophy winners since 2000 have come from the quarterback position, including three of the last four, as former Collins Hill High School star Travis Hunter won the award last season at Colorado as a two-way player at cornerback and receiver.
About the Author
Mike is in his eighth season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 30 years of collegiate sports multimedia experience, 25 of them in the SEC including beat writer stops at Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia. Mike was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
