ATHENS — Though he has not formally been named the team’s starting quarterback, all signs this fall point to Gunner Stockton taking the first snap at quarterback when Georgia opens the 2025 season against Marshall.

Stockton got a taste of starting experience against Notre Dame last season, but his next start inside the Sanford Stadium hedges will be the first of his career.

With such little experience — Stockton has 83 pass attempts in his previous three seasons at Georgia — Stockton is still widely an unknown, especially to the national college football audience.

Yet Stockton is poised to be one of the most important players in the sport in 2025. That’s according to ESPN’s Bill Connelly, who sees Stockton as someone who will have a significant influence on the national championship picture.

“The small-town Georgia product and former blue-chipper found himself in an impossible situation, making his first career start in the 2024 CFP quarterfinals last season against Notre Dame,” Connelly wrote. “He made some fabulous throws, suffered a devastating sack-and-strip fumble and couldn’t quite get the job done. Now he has gotten an entire offseason to prepare for start No. 2 and beyond. Georgia has the highest floor in the sport, but the Dawgs’ ceiling will be defined by Stockton and a receiving corps that didn’t do nearly enough for its QBs last season.”

Stockton was the not the only Georgia to make the list, as wide receiver Zachariah Branch joined his quarterback. Branch could emerge as one of Stockton’s top playmakers and help Stockton in a way that Carson Beck did not last season.

Georgia led the country in drops with 36 last season. The Bulldogs also had a rather putrid rushing offense, as they finished 102nd in the country in rushing yards per game.

Stockton knows fixing the Georgia offense won’t all be on his shoulders this fall. As has been reiterated by Kirby Smart and Stockton’s teammates, it is going to take a collective effort.

But there is a real trust in Stockton to this point, even if it is not evident to the wide viewing public. When Stockton entered the SEC Championship Game for an injured Beck last December, the team responded immediately to Stockton’s energy.

“He’s been preparing like he’s a starting quarterback for four years,” tight end Oscar Delp said of Stockton. “So there’s no one I trust more than Gunner. Seeing what he does at home, on and off the field. Last year everyone was so surprised when he went to Texas game and killed it.

“But I mean, he could have went in four games, and he would have done the same thing. He’s prepared like a starter for four years, and he’s gonna continue to do that.”

Stockton will get games against Marshall and Austin Peay to open the season, which should give the Georgia quarterback the opportunity to ease into the role of starting quarterback. But the job gets much tougher in September, as Georgia faces Tennessee and Alabama in consecutive games.

Behind Stockton is redshirt freshman Ryan Puglisi. While Georgia likes his potential, Puglisi is yet to attempt a pass in a college game. Stockton also has a two-year edge in terms of experience and knowledge of the Georgia offensive system.

Georgia’s first game is set for a 3:30 p.m. ET start on Aug. 30. The game against Marshall will air on ESPN.