Being part of the Georgia Bulldogs squad is indeed a big flex. After all, that program has a storied history with four Natty titles under its belt. Plus, it comes with a great offer to be under the tutelage of Kirby Smart. The 3x SEC Coach of the Year, the AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year, and the Broyles Award winner. But there is another side to that coin, too. The pressure to live up to the high expectations. And who knows it better than Smart’s quarterback, Gunner Stockton? While more than his talents, his environment played a foul role, leaving him his seat to get hot; a new trouble is looming for Stockton. The latest Athens injury bug could be costing the quarterback more than just sleep. 

“I think everyone can see Georgia is going to be a force to be reckoned with.” Yes, that’s how Smart chooses to stay positive amidst all the gloom. After all, their big Sugar Bowl loss must have left the Bulldogs with a long-term wound. But the head coach is on his way to building a championship-caliber team, step by step. Quarterback is always the hot seat, right? And you know Stockton is already feeling the heat, especially stepping into Carson Beck’s shoes. It’s a bit of a touchy spot for Smart’s team since Beck took off for Miami, after folks thought his experience would lead them to the Natty this time. Now, all eyes are on Stockton as the Bulldogs are under the most pressure this 2025. If that was not enough, here comes competition from within the squad. That’s none other than Ryan Puglisi.

As Dawgnation Ryan Kerley pointed out earlier, “Puglisi’s ball just flies off the fingertips. He’s got a rocket of an arm.” However, Stockton holds more experience than Puglisi, even by a little. Coming up with 45-of-64 passing attempts (70.3%) for 440 yards, he had one start in his career. Cut to Puglisi; he is yet to throw a collegiate pass. While Stockton must have thought that he would only have to deal with the Puglisi hype, here comes another blow.

On May 13, Dawg Nation reporter Jeff Snetell dropped a big update about  4-star Georgia quarterback commit Ryan Montgomery. The analyst wrote, “Georgia’s freshmen QB continues to improve in his comeback from a major knee injury he suffered in the first game of his senior season last fall.” Smart’s 2025 QB commit received unfortunate news on a Monday evening back in August last year.

The nation’s No. 9 quarterback recruit will undergo season-ending ACL surgery. Montgomery finished his junior season as a finalist for Ohio Mr. Football. So, expectations were high. But the universe threw a curveball. However, he did not give up. As back in November, Montgomery said, “I’m attacking [the rehab] every day…Just trying to get back as soon as possible.” Looks like the day is already here, serving Stockton with enough panic. The video that went viral shows the young chap making progress when it comes to striking the throwing posture that involves twisting the knee and the ankle. Amidst the growing competition, the SEC QB rankings did Stockton absolutely dirty.  

Brad Crawford’s big snub of Gunner Stockton

A projected $823,000 NIL quarterback, Stockton started for the winning team during Georgia’s spring game. In the scrimmage, Stockton completed 17-of-34 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns. After all, the young chap has been patient with his time in Athens. As Andy Staples noted on April 22, “Stockton spent the better part of three seasons waiting his turn in Athens—first behind Stetson Bennett and then behind Carson Beck.” Plus, the fact that Smart sat idly by not adding a quarterback from the transfer portal, was a clear sign that the Bulldogs were confident with Stockton. 

However, given the current situation, they might lose their confidence. Courtesy? The latest SEC QB rankings. According to Brad Crawford’s SEC QB rankings, Stockton is the No. 12 quarterback out of the 16 projected starting QBs in the SEC. Now, what’s the reason behind this sharp fall? “Stockton has not shown enough yet to push him into the upper crust of SEC quarterbacking, but there’s a certain expectation level that comes with being Georgia’s starter in a Mike Bobo-driven scheme,” shared the analyst.

Given the rankings, Kirby Smart’s quarterback is ranked behind players like Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed (No. 11), who managed to score zero offensive points against Texas last season. But when it comes to Gunner Stockton, he did not play poorly in his limited starting action against a pair of elite teams like Texas and Notre Dame. In that way, he deserves a place above unproven players like Ty Simpson of Alabama (No. 10) and Austin Simmons (No. 7) of Ole Miss. Could Stockton’s breakout force Crawford to eat his rankings?