Last season, despite leading Georgia to a championship, Carson Beck faced heavy criticism for inconsistent play, hampered by a weak receiving corps. Now, with Beck out of the picture, Gunner Stockton steps into the spotlight, carrying a heavy weight of immense pressure and high expectations. Look, the hype is thick, but the pressure is thicker, and now he’ll either thrive or falter spectacularly. But what if Stockton repeats Beck’s struggles? What if inconsistency plagues Georgia again?

Well, Carson Beck’s move to Miami opened doors for Gunner Stockton to take over as Georgia’s starting QB. And he is already on his path to make that happen during Georgia’s G-Day. Gunner took the field with the first team’s offense. And in that game, he completed 16 of 34 passes for 309 yards with two touchdowns and 1 interception. Best part? Kirby Smart saw definite improvements in his plays. “[He] has done a very good job with his feet and his legs. He made plays with his legs today,” Smart said. But despite all this, will Gunner Stockton be able to thrive in a system that led the nation with 36 drops last season? Looks like he can.

Look, we all know how Georgia’s receiving corps made things worse for Carson Beck, pulling down his 72.4% completion rate to 64.7% last season. And that’s not all; even his interception count went from 6 to 12 last season. But this season, that’s going to change, as Dawgs247’s Jordan Hill candidly points out on the Cover 3 Podcast that Georgia’s weak receiving unit is set to thrive this season. “Carson Beck had his faults during the 2024 season. There are plenty of mistakes Carson made, but the big thing I would want people to take away from this preview of Georgia looking at Georgia in 2025 is that I think this wide receiver corps is significantly better than the 2024 version. And that’s huge.”

Now, last season, Kirby Smart’s team had its worst rush offense in nine seasons under him, finishing 102nd in the nation, averaging just 124.4 yards per game. But with all the new transfer portal additions, Gunner Stockton’s situation might not be like Carson Beck’s.

“When you have more drops than Trent Dilfer’s UAB Blazers, that’s not a good thing. And they still wound up winning the SEC, as we’ve already said. But they go get Zachariah Branch from USC, who I thought had a fantastic spring at Georgia. You get Noah Thomas from Texas A&M. Colbie Young comes back from Miami — a guy that I think is going to be a big part of this offense as well. And you get Dillon Bell as well,” said Hill.

However, Jordan Hill didn’t mince words before landing Gunner Stockton with a reality check. “And the big question for me with Gunner going into 2025 is going to be just how he plays. The big questions on offense are how Gunner meets this moment. I mean, basically he’s had a game and a half of legitimate experience at Georgia — that second half and overtime in the SEC Championship Game, the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame,” Hill said. Now, it’s all on Gunner Stockton how he takes up the charge of offense.

Well, he had his fair share of inconsistency while playing against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, where he completed 20 out of 32 passes for 234 yards and 1 TD. But also had a pair of fumbles (one lost) and also had 10 rushes for negative 23 yards. So, if he really wants to thrive this season, consistency is the key. And even Hill highlights the same:

“So if they can meet the moment, it’s going to be a good position for Gunner Stockton because of the pieces he has around him, because of the skill at receiver, at running back. I think this offense has a chance to really shine. But that means there’s going to be a lot of pressure on Gunner Stockton to deliver.”

But that’s not the only pressure Gunner Stockton is facing moving ahead in the season…

Paul Finebaum’s subtle warning to Gunner Stockton

The 2024 college football season featured several outstanding quarterbacks. Cam Ward (Miami), Kyle McCord (Syracuse), Shedeur Sanders (Colorado), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon), and Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss) all had exceptional years. With these players heading to the NFL, the big question is: who will shine the brightest next season?

During an appearance on his show, SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum talked about Georgia’s new quarterback. He questioned whether Gunner Stockton had the potential to be a top quarterback, noting, “To me, Gunner Stockton is a lot of hype right now.” Finebaum noted the team’s affection for Stockton, yet their execution on the field fell short of flawless. He explained, “We got the bill of goods about how much the team loved him and how hard they want to play for him.”

Look, Gunner Stockton saw action in only five games last season. In those games, his passing totaled 440 yards and one touchdown. He was most effective during the final game and a half of the season. But Finebaum’s concerns persisted. “I saw that in the Sugar Bowl. I saw just inexcusable mistakes across the board, and he was part of some of them.” Despite the hype, Gunner’s mistakes stood out to Finebaum.

But let’s not forget that Gunner Stockton’s crucial eight-yard overtime run led Georgia to victory against Texas. However, his poor performance in their 23-10 loss to Notre Dame lingers. The Bulldogs’ offense sputtered throughout that game.

Whether Stockton can rise to the top of college football quarterbacks remains to be seen, but his success could put Georgia back in the national championship hunt.