It’s fair to question what Gunner Stockton might look like when he takes over the full-time starting role as Georgia’s quarterback this fall.

He’s thrown just 83 career pass attempts, most of those coming in the final two games of the 2024 season.

Stockton, with one career start, is still an unknown product entering the 2025 season. It’s why many prognosticators have Georgia lower than its usual spot in recent years. Joel Klatt of Fox Sports had at Georgia No. 8, the same spot as Andy Staples of On3.

“There are a lot of mixed opinions on Stockton and he could be a really quality player, but I haven’t seen that yet,” Klatt said of Stockton.

In the two games against Texas and Notre Dame, Stockton had middling production. He completed 32 of his 48 pass attempts for 305 yards. He did have a touchdown pass in the win over Notre Dame, but he also had two turnovers.

There is one thing to keep in mind though with regards to Stockton, specifically with regards to the opponent he faced.

He came off the bench to replace Beck at halftime of the game against Texas. The same program that just had 12 players taken in the 2025 NFL Draft and one that made it to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

Georgia was trailing at the time Stockton entered the game. Yet he stabilized the offense, found a way to keep his head — metaphorically speaking. His helmet literally went flying on his final play of the game — and lead Georgia to an SEC championship.

To follow that up, he took on a Notre Dame team that advanced all the way to the national championship game, where it ultimately lost to Ohio State. Question the Fighting Irish all you want, but that was a stout team, even more so for a quarterback making his first career start.

Georgia faces a difficult schedule once again in 2025. Texas, Alabama and Ole Miss come to Athens. Georgia visits Auburn and Tennessee in the first six weeks of the season.

Yet Stockton won’t face the same level of opponent when the Bulldogs open the season. He’ll get to show out against Marshall and Austin Peay, two foes that should allow Stockton to showcase how much he’s improved since his only career start.

“Confidence, understanding the offense, knowing when to take a shot, which he didn’t do a great job today,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of Stockton following G-Day. “He had a couple times where he could have thrown the ball or checked it down. He took shots that he probably didn’t have to. But he’s done a really good job with his feet, his legs.”

Arch Manning of Texas has generated plenty of hype as he, like Stockton, enters his first full season as the starting quarterback. The presence of Manning is a big reason Texas is universally ranked ahead of Georgia in the post-spring Top 25s.

Manning, aside from being a 5-star quarterback, made his first two starts against UL-Monroe and Mississippi State last season. In his action against Georgia, Manning looked overwhelmed. He committed a fumble much in the same manner Stockton did against Notre Dame just prior to halftime.

Stockton will ultimately be judged by how he performs in games against Texas and Notre Dame. In that sense, it’s good for Georgia that the junior quarterback has already gotten a taste of what those contests feel like.

Stockton will get the chance to show he’s much more than the quarterback who was put under a microscope due to injury, and instead someone who has outright earned the job.

He’s in the process of winning the starting job, as most see it as fait accompli at this point. His performance this spring showed he was a good bit ahead of backup Ryan Puglisi.

In Georgia’s spring game, Stockton completed 17 of his 34 pass attempts for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns. He did have an interception, as he couldn’t squeeze in a deep shot to Colbie Young.

Georgia and Smart also know they can’t put as much on Stockton’s shoulders as they did with Beck a season ago. That much was evident coming out of the loss to Notre Dame, where most felt Stockton played fine. His teammates just didn’t hold up their end of the bargain.

The Bulldogs added Noah Thomas, Zachariah Branch and Joshua McCray to give Stockton more weapons to use. As Beck struggled during the 2024 season, he certainly could used more of those.

We don’t yet know what Stockton will look like as the unquestioned leader of the Georgia offense. Teammates rave about what Stockton brings to the table from a vibes standpoint, raving about Stockton’s football character in a way they never did with Beck.

But just because Stockton is an unknown does not render him unremarkable or uninspiring. Stockton can be a difference-maker for this Georgia team.

He just needs the game reps. Yes against Texas, Alabama and Tennessee, but also against Marshall, Austin Peay and Kentucky as well.

Every snap matters for Stockton and Georgia if they’re to show they’re actually closer to being the No. 1 team in the country than the No. 10.