ATHENS — Quarterbacks are under scrutiny by the very nature of the position, so that’s where the conversation starts for three of the top four SEC contenders.

Arch Manning, Ty Simpson and Gunner Stockton are where the questions start about the championship hopes for Texas, Alabama and Georgia.

The teams have their differences, to be sure — the Longhorns and Bulldogs are also replacing four starting offensive linemen and overhauling their receiving corps.

But many shrink the teams’ hopes down to how well the first-year starting quarterbacks will perform in the cases of those three programs.

ESPN was no different in their reason “if” article, noting that “if” the first-year starting QBs at Texas, Alabama and Georgia fare well it would obviously greatly improve their championship hopes.

Stockton’s case is interesting in that his limited experience has been on the biggest of stages in the SEC Championship Game and the CFP Sugar Bowl semifinal.

But as ESPN author Bill Connelly noted, those were “nearly the toughest situation imaginable.”

On the plus side Stockton’s poise and toughness could not be questioned — the fourth-year quarterback has plenty of that.

Further, Stockton is known to be a “film rat,” so his knowledge of the offense is superb.

Experts call it “flying the jet” in a pro-style offense that requires extreme verbiage, reads, checks and decision-making in a very short amount of time between each play call and snap.

The bottom-line for Stockton will be arm talent and timing with the receivers, and a summer’s worth of work has gone into that.

But the basics of being capable of operating an offense like Georgia’s can’t be underestimated, and that’s why it most often takes more than a season in the system before a player can run Kirby Smart’s preferred offense efficiently.

Smart has been supportive of the improvement Stockton has shown in the offseason after the Georgia quarterback had an inconsistent showing in the G-Day Game

But until Stockton gets it done in prime time in a hostile environment at Tennessee on Sept. 13 — or for some, at home against Alabama on Sept. 27 — there will be questions about his ability to lead Georgia to a title.

Stockton showed grit and played well enough for his team to beat Texas and Notre Dame.

Against the Longhorns, the run game and defense did enough around Stockton for the Bulldogs to win, 22-19 in overtime.

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Against the Irish, the run game and special teams failed, and Stockton committed a critical mistake leading to a Notre Dame touchdown that he was not able to overcome in a 23-10 loss.

Stockton’s challenge will be to play well enough to compensate should other areas of the team not play up to par — rather than perform in a manner where other parts of the game need to compensate for his limitations.

The 2025 season offers a fresh start for Stockton, and the limited experience he has will be valuable — things won’t be tougher than they were at the end of last season.

But the expectations will be just as high for the team, and it will start with Stockton at Georgia — just as it will be on Manning’s shoulders at Texas and on Simpson’s at Alabama.