{"id":125388,"date":"2025-08-07T04:17:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T04:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/125388\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T04:17:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T04:17:13","slug":"mike-bobo-says-gunner-stockton-is-still-like-freshman-qb-as-paul-finebaum-throws-harsh-critique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/125388\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Bobo Says Gunner Stockton is Still Like Freshman QB as Paul Finebaum Throws Harsh Critique"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been four long years in Athens for Gunner<\/b> Stockton<\/b>. And yet, somehow, the Georgia QB still feels like a mystery wrapped in red and black. He waited, watched, and gritted his teeth on the sidelines while Carson Beck<\/b> ran the show. But when the former QB went down last season, Stockton didn\u2019t blink. He stepped into the fire and nearly pulled off a storybook run. And now, with Beck suiting up for Miami, all eyes are on him in 2025. Kirby Smart<\/b> may not have stuck that QB1 label on him yet, but anyone who\u2019s been following the Dawgs can read between the lines. He\u2019s taking that first snap against Marshall. But is he ready? And more importantly, does Georgia believe he\u2019s ready?<\/p>\n

This is where Georgia\u2019s OC and QBs coach Mike Bobo<\/b> enters the chat. In a new episode on UGA Football on Dawg Post<\/a> on August 6, he gave a revealing peek into Gunner Stockton\u2019s development. And his answer is simple and raw. \u201cHe has not changed,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s in this offense now for his fourth year and some of the same notes, some of the same reminders, some of the same coaching points, and that guy every day is taking notes like he\u2019s a first year freshman.\u201d This guy is still acting like he\u2019s trying to earn a scholarship. That may not sound flashy but if you\u2019re a Georgia fan still nursing a post-Beck hangover, that\u2019s exactly what you want to hear.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"article-image\"\/<\/p>\n

via Imago<\/p>\n

The former blue-chip QB out of Rabun County is now the top dawg in Athens after Carson Beck\u2019s injury opened the door last December. And according to Mike Bobo, Gunner Stockton is doing all he can to improve himself. \u201cWe can always be more efficient in everything we do fundamentally and technique-wise at the quarterback position. And that\u2019s something that we\u2019ve been working on,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes everything doesn\u2019t have to be a howitzer. You know, learning how to layer the ball. He made a throw yesterday that we pointed out to some things that we had done and trying to just improve on little things every day.\u201d Well, his resume isn\u2019t overflowing with reps. Just five games last year, 83 total pass attempts in three seasons. But when the moment came, when the Dawgs needed someone to hold the line, he delivered.<\/p>\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

In the SEC title game, Gunner Stockton engineered a gritty 22-19 overtime win over Texas, highlighted by an 8-yard scramble that set up Trevor Etienne\u2019<\/b>s walk-off touchdown. One week later, it was Notre Dame in the CFP quarterfinals. The result is a humbling 23-10 loss. But not without flashes of brilliance including 234 yards, a TD, and a strip-sack that reminded us all this kid\u2019s still learning. \u201cHe\u2019s been preparing like he\u2019s a starting quarterback for four years,\u201d said tight end Oscar Delp<\/b>. \u201cSo, there\u2019s no one I trust more than Gunner.\u201d ESPN\u2019s Bill Connelly isn\u2019t betting against him either, calling Stockton \u201cone of the most important players in the sport in 2025.\u201d Even though he has support from a lot of places<\/a>, not everyone\u2019s sold.<\/p>\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Paul Finebaum sounds off on Gunner Stockton\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Paul Finebaum didn\u2019t exactly roll out the red carpet for Gunner Stockton during his latest SEC quarterback rankings on The Paul Finebaum Show. \u201cI don\u2019t rank him really high. I think he\u2019s middle of the pack. Maybe middle to lower of the pack,\u201d he said. \u201cHe could go higher. That\u2019s a cliche, but I\u2019m telling you that anyway, and ultimately he has a lot to prove.\u201d The analyst didn\u2019t stop there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paul Finebaum questioned if Gunner Stockton could lead Georgia to a national title. \u201cI don\u2019t have a lot of faith in Gunner Stockton,\u201d he added, before backpedaling a bit saying he had more faith in Gunner now than he once had in Stetson Bennett<\/b>. And we all know how that turned out. \u201cSo, it\u2019s proven that Georgia, if it has an elite defense and enough complements on offense, can get there,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

To be fair, Paul Finebaum has a point. Gunner Stockton won\u2019t fix Georgia\u2019s offense alone. The Bulldogs\u2019 offense was clunky last year going 102nd in rushing yards and led the country in drops (36). That\u2019s not exactly a QB\u2019s dream environment. But help could be on the way, with Zachariah Branch<\/b> looking like a breakout WR star, and a revamped run game in the works. The QB doesn\u2019t need to be perfect. He just needs to be steady because Georgia\u2019s floor remains elite<\/a>. But the ceiling rests on his arm, his poise, and his gunslinger instincts that Mike Bobo is still fine-tuning. And it all kicks off August 30, against Marshall at 3:30 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been four long years in Athens for Gunner Stockton. And yet, somehow, the Georgia QB still feels…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":125389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1444,1318,68248,1317,1315,1316,1618,62,67,132,68,29659,1615,1616],"class_list":{"0":"post-125388","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-1444","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-imagngalleryfeed","11":"tag-ncaa","12":"tag-ncaa-football","13":"tag-ncaafootball","14":"tag-quer","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usatnsyndication","20":"tag-x0x","21":"tag-xkwx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114985555966288923","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}