Lane Kiffin knows secret to success for Georgia QB Gunner Stockton: ‘Savvy’
ATHENS — Gunner Stockton’s not the biggest, fastest or strongest-arm quarterback in the SEC.
But he has thus far proved to be the one thing Kirby Smart counted on: “A winner.”
“Savvy,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said, asked about Georgia’s first-year starting quarterback. “You know, he makes a lot of plays, keeps plays alive, and they’ve done a really good job with him.
“You know, of winning certain situations and not making bad errors to put them in bad situations.”
The No. 9-ranked Bulldogs will be looking for more winning plays when they tackle Kiffin’s No. 5-ranked Rebels at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Sanford Stadium.
And those winning plays don’t necessarily rest entirely on the shoulders of Stockton, as Smart and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo have devised an offense that starts with the run game.
Indeed, Stockton’s 1,264 yards passing this season rank 11th among SEC quarterbacks, and his 220 yards rushing rank fifth among SEC quarterbacks.
Georgia’s third-down conversion percentage is not among the elite, either, just seventh among the 16 SEC teams.
So how are Stockton and the Bulldogs getting it done with such middle-of-the-pack numbers?
“Well,” Kiffin said, asked on the SEC teleconference how UGA uses Stockton in different ways than past Georgia quarterbacks, “I think they move him around, get him on the run by design, and sometimes he does it on his own.
“You know, he gets out of a lot of trouble with quick feet and finds ways to keep plays alive.”
Stockton simply doesn’t get his team beat, which is the first step for a quarterback to win games.
Stockton has thrown just one interception in 169 pass attempts, and he has only been sacked in two of six games.
Four of those sacks occurred in Georgia’s 44-41 overtime win at Tennessee — a game the Bulldogs fell behind 21-7 and trailed late in the fourth quarter.
Stockton, in fact, lost his only fumble of the season against the Vols, resulting in a field goal.
But to Smart’s point — Stockton, “a winner” — atoned for those mistakes with three of the most pressure-packed throws of the season:
• Facing a fourth-and-3 at the UGA 48, down 21-7, Stockton connected with Zachariah Branch for 13 yards on a slant route.
• Facing a fourth-and-6 at the UT 28, Stockton threw a picture-perfect touchdown pass to London Humphreys.
• Down 38-36, Stockton found Branch on a quick out for a 2-point conversion that tied the score and ultimately sent the game to overtime.
There’s much to be said for timely, clutch plays, and Stockton has come through time and time again.
Against Auburn, the only other game Stockton has been sacked in (twice), the Georgia QB again came up big in the clutch, hitting Humphreys for an 8-yard gain on a fourth-and-3 to sustain the game-clinching scoring drive, which he capped with a 10-yard touchdown run.
“I think our offense, we never quit,” Stockton said after going 2-0 in SEC road games, both in come-from-behind situations in hostile environments. “We’re resilient.”
Each play begins with the snap going into Stockton’s hands, and despite relatively modest offensive volume, Georgia is getting what it needs from Stockton when it needs it most.
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.
