Ole Miss likens Georgia QB Gunner Stockton to LeBron James
NEW ORLEANS — Georgia isn’t the easiest team to prepare for, according to Ole Miss assistant coach Joe Judge.
“They’ve got every trick in the book,” said Judge, who was the head coach of the New York Giants in 2020 and 2021. “These guys do a phenomenal job coaching, and they are very talented.”
The Rebels are set to face the Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal Sugar Bowl on Thursday, marking the second time the teams will meet this season. Georgia beat Ole Miss 43-35 in October.
Bryan Brown, the Rebels defensive coordinator, indicated Georgia’s success starts with quarterback Gunner Stockton — whom he compared to four-time NBA champion LeBron James.
“That’s what Gunner is, he’s a football player that makes the right football plays,” Brown said. “I’m a basketball junkie, as well, and you think about LeBron James, and he makes the right plays, and when you can do that you put your team in situations to be successful and put yourself in situations where you can be able to win.”
In their October meeting, Stockton was 26-for-31 passing for 289 yards and four touchdowns against Ole Miss.
Brown noted how Stockton has proved he can make plays off the scramble as a runner or passer.
“He’s a gamer, as people call it, he does a great job of extending plays with his legs, and it’s not just to run but being able to keep his eyes down the field and being able to throw,” Brown said. “And if he needs to run, he will, he’ll extend a drive and be able to pick up first downs.”
Stockton, on his runs this season in situations of third-and-3 or less, has gained enough for a first down 13 of those 17 occasions.
And on the four occasions Stockton has carried the ball on fourth down, he has converted for a first down all four times.
Then there’s the three-dimensional chess that will be taking place between the coaches in a second meeting in the same season, as Judge explained.
“You have to prepare for not only what they did the first time, you have to look at how it progressed from your game to where it is now,” Judge said. “But then also go back in the history books, of in these types of games with weeks off, what have they done historically to change it up.
“They’ve had plenty of opportunities themselves of playing the same team twice, so what did they change up in the second games, and (then) studying that history, as well, and seeing how that evolved.”
About the Author
Mike is in his 10th season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 25 years of CFB experience. Mike is a Heisman Trophy voter and former Football Writers President who was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
