Gunner Stockton showed he can be a great quarterback at times last season. Performances against Tennessee, Ole Miss and Texas back that up, when the Georgia quarterback accounted for 13 touchdowns and just one turnover in those three victories.

But Stockton wasn’t a great quarterback all the time last season, especially after Stockton lost starting center Drew Bobo. The nadir came against Georgia Tech, when Stockton finished with just 70 passing yards on 21 attempts.

Most everyone would agree that Stockton is at least a good quarterback. He finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting last season while earning third-team All-SEC honors.

The bar Stockton has to clear to become a great quarterback isn’t all that high. If he can eliminate the poor showings, as we saw at the end of the season, he’s got the chance to very much count himself among the nation’s elite.

ESPN’s David Hale ranked Stockton among the third tier of quarterbacks for the upcoming season. He’s a step below the likes of CJ Carr of Notre Dame and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, even if he’s beaten Arch Manning and Trinidad Chambliss in competition.

One of Stockton’s biggest strengths is his play against Top 25 foes. Against top-25 defenses per the S&P+ last season, Stockton completed 72% of his passes while accounting for 18 touchdowns and just 2 turnovers.

While Stockton shined at times last season, he did so with a strong supporting cast. Oscar Delp, Zachariah Branch and Colbie Young were all taken in last year’s NFL draft, as was offensive tackle Monroe Freeling in the first round.

That’s a lot of talent for Georgia to replace, specifically among its pass catchers. Gone are six of Stockton’s top seven targets from last season, with London Humphreys being the team’s only pass catcher who hauled in more than 15 passes.

Georgia did dip into the transfer portal to add Georgia Tech wide receiver Isiah Canion, while Kaiden Prothro and Craig Dandridge impressed as freshman pass catchers this spring.

The Bulldogs like the talent surrounding Stockton, even if it is unproven. One big task for Stockton this coming year will be getting the most out of the talent around him, much like Branch, Delp and Freeling did with Stockton when he took over as the team’s full-time starting quarterback last fall.

Georgia loves what Stockton brings to the table from a leadership standpoint, which is why there’s so much internal optimism about what he’ll bring to the table in his second season as Georgia’s starting quarterback.

Jake Fromm threw for 30 touchdown passes in his second season as Georgia’s starting quarterback, while Stetson Bennett led the team to a 15-0 record while becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist.

But Carson Beck regressed in his second season at the helm of the Georgia offense, offering a cautionary tale about assumed improvement. Stockton saw what Beck went through in 2024 before ultimately taking over when Beck suffered a season-ending injury.

Georgia needs a better version of Stockton in 2026 than what it saw in 2025. That will be difficult to top with how well Stockton played at times last season.

Stockton is a tough player, one who has already proven capable of doing hard things in his time with the Bulldogs.