ATHENS — Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young compared Gunner Stockton’s game to that of current New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson.
In his prime, Wilson used his legs to extend plays and push the ball down the field. Young made the comparison in a complimentary way.
The current version of Wilson is a far cry from that. In the Giants’ season-opening loss to Washington, Wilson completed 17 of his 37 pass attempts for 168 yards. New York did not score a touchdown.
Stockton was not that bad against Austin Peay last week. But Georgia needs better play out of the junior quarterback as it opens SEC play against Tennessee.
“When we play defenses that are not allowing us to throw that, we’ve got to make sure you just don’t force it,” Young said. “We’ve got a great running game and just stay confident in yourself. It’s going to come eventually. We’ve got a long season ahead, and we’re going to have a successful season throwing the ball. So just stay confident, it’s going to come.”
Stockton wanted to review the tape following Saturday’s performance and really attack practice on Monday. He threw for 227 yards on 26 of 34 passing attempts.
Much of that came near the line of scrimmage. His longest completion went for 19 yards and Young was the only Georgia pass catcher with more than 35 receiving yards. He led the team with 76 receiving yards on seven receptions.
There are a variety of reasons Georgia’s deep passing offense has emerged as an early-season concern for the Bulldogs. Georgia wants to be explosive, rather than relying on long drives to score.
Georgia ended the win over Austin Peay with a 17-play, 99-yard drive. But the Bulldogs can’t expect to replicate that formula against a salty Tennessee defense.
“You gotta prevent turnovers, but you also have to have the ability to throw it down the field and hit some shots and be explosive,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “But I don’t think that would keep you from doing and thinking about turnovers.”
Stockton has not yet turned the ball over in either start this season. He also hasn’t been sacked.
But that does not mean the play on the offensive line play has been sterling. Injuries to Earnest Greene and Juan Gaston put Jah Jackson and Michael Uini into the starting lineup. Georgia also saw Bo Hughley and Dontrell Glover play significant snaps in the second half.
Greene seems to be in better shape heading into Saturday’s game against Tennessee. Smart would have a better idea about his offensive line following Monday’s practice.
“It’s been a rotating kinda deal all throughout camp. We’ve had guys in and out of the lineup during camp that has made us kinda platoon that side,” Smart said. “We’ve even flipped Monroe (Freeling) and flipped Micah (Morris) over to that side at times. So they had bright spots, and they had disappointing spots.”
Sorting out the offensive line should give Stockton more confidence to stand in the pocket and fire the ball downfield.
Not every pocket can be perfect and Stockton must find the right balance of playmaking.
“He just wants to be perfect,” Young said. “And we always tell him, like, ‘Nobody’s perfect in this world, Gunner, you’ll be alright.’ And he’s like, ‘No, I gotta get it. I gotta do this again.’ So just in his confidence and his wanting to be great, just instills in us to be like, we’ve gotta be better. We’ve gotta play up to his level and just keep him as confident as possible.”
Stockton owned up to Saturday’s effort not being up to standard. He didn’t need to grind the tape to understand he has to be better.
Georgia knows it needs to be strong around Stockton to produce the explosive plays the Bulldogs have been lacking. The Bulldogs measure an explosive passing play as one that gains at least 16 yards.
Through the first two games, Stockton has accounted for only eight such gains. But one has to only look at the Notre Dame game, when Stockton connected with Arian Smith for a 67-yard gain to show he’s capable of making big throws.
Stockton’s practice habits have consistently earned strong reviews. He’s always been a great practice player, which is in part why there was never truly much of a quarterback competition. Stockton played so well in practice, Ryan Puglisi never made much headway into Stockton’s lead.
For whatever reason, those practice habits haven’t yet carried over to the field.
Smart made it clear all the pressure isn’t on Stockton to play well this week. Georgia still needs to run the ball well while those on the perimeter make plays. Georgia’s defense continuing its strong start to the season against a Tennessee offense that scored 45 and 72 points to begin the season will perhaps be more paramount to success on Saturday.
Wilson’s greatest accomplishments came when he complemented Seattle’s strong defense and Legion of Boom secondary. Seattle won a Super Bowl and was a Wilson interception away from winning a second.
Stockton needs to be better. We’ll have to wait until Saturday, when Stockton makes his first career road start, to see if that happens.
“So when we say we wanna see Gunner do that, see a carryover, it requires the 11 people doing exactly what they did in practice for him to have success,” Smart said. “Because in an offensive unit, one guy can mess up, and that ruins that entire play.”
