Gunner Stockton shows he’s just as much ‘a weapon’ on the ground for UGA

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For a moment, Georgia quarterback Stockton looked like his famous 1984 Ford pickup truck.

Rumbling down the sideline, ahead of the Arkansas defense. But Stockton, like his iconic vehicle, is not made for speed.

“I was kind of worried about somebody coming up and ripping the ball out. So I was trying to worry about ball security,” Stockton said. “But there was a bunch of guys that had great blocks. My job was the easiest on that. So I’m just glad that we got it sprung and ran a good round.”

The 62-yard scamper came at a key junction in Georgia’s 45-17 win over Arkansas. Had the Razorbacks snuffed out the QB sweep, Arkansas would have gotten the ball back with the chance to cut it to a one-score game.

While Stockton didn’t score on the career-long run, his explosive run set up a short Chauncey Bowens touchdown shortly thereafter. That score put the Bulldogs up 21-0.

“I just knew he was gonna run out of gas,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said with a smile. “I mean, he got tired there at the end. We had guys blocking for him, and he got ran down.”

Coming into Saturday, Stockton did not have a designed carry on the season.

He finished Saturday with seven rushing attempts for 97 rushing yards. If you remove sacks, his four carries amounted to 122 rushing yards. He just missed becoming the first Georgia quarterback to rush for 100 yards in a game since Justin Fields did so in 2018.

“He’s a weapon, because a lot of those are drop-back passes that become explosive plays on any time your quarterback can take off and run,” Smart said. “It’s a value too, and he’s made really good decisions so far on when to run and when not to run, and also when to get down and when to take a hit.”

As a passer, Stockton completed 10 of his 13 pass attempts for 147 yards. It marked the fewest passing yards and attempts Stockton has had in a game this season.

The Bulldogs leaned heavily on their ground game, as 36 of the first 42 plays ended up being runs. Not all of those were called that way, but Georgia was content to lean on the Razorbacks.

“As an o-lineman, you always show up at the game ready to try to run the ball,” offensive lineman Earnest Greene said. “But we really only go with what coach (Mike) Bobo’s game plan was, and today, I felt like he had a rhythm. Felt like we had a rhythm, and he kind of stayed with the rush a little bit in the first half.”

For the third straight game, Stockton did end his day with a touchdown pass. This time he hit freshman Craig Dandridge for a 61-yard score that put the Bulldogs up 38-3 in the fourth quarter.

“That route he ran at the end, he did a great job,” Stockton said. “Heading up to safety and making him look a little silly. But he’s a really good route runner, and he works every day. And he does a good job with that, and he’s fun to be around.”

Stockton did see two of his top options exit the game, as neither wide receiver Isiah Canion nor running back Nate Frazier finished Saturday’s contest.

Canion left on the opening drive of the game with a leg injury. Frazier was “dinged” up in the second half after rushing for 75 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Without those top pieces, Georgia still coasted to a win. It speaks to how well Stockton has started the season as he looks to push Georgia further than he did a year ago.

Things have looked easy for Stockton thus far, as the Bulldogs have scored points on 17 of their 19 non-kneel-down drives with Stockton at quarterback.