ATHENS — Georgia will reportedly finish the season without Carson Beck, who suffered an elbow injury in the SEC Championship game, opening the door for redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton to start his first career game — a College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
While questions remain about what Stockton can be for the Bulldogs, those who see him every day in practice are confident Stockton can handle whatever comes next in the Bulldogs playoff matchup Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl.
“When Gunner Stockton stepped on the field, I had no doubt,” linebacker Jalon Walker said in an appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show. “I came in with Gunner together as freshmen, and I always had confidence in him. You know, he’s played big-time football because he sees it every day. I mean, he does a great job preparing himself mentally and physically of what he has to do for the game. And I feel like he’ll be fine.
“I feel like our team will have Gunner’s back no matter what happens, and I feel like we’ll be putting in the best position by him in the offense.”
To Walker’s point, the College Football Playoff will not be the first time Stockton plays in a big-time game. Stockton stepped in for Beck at halftime of the SEC Championship game and led the Bulldogs to a come-from-behind win.
Stockton didn’t have the greatest statistical showing against the Texas Longhorns, recording 71 yards on 16 attempts and he also had a costly interception. But Stockton found a way to lead Georgia on multiple scoring drives against a defense that ranks first in the country in yards allowed per play.
“The team has a lot of confidence in Gunner,” coach Kirby Smart previously said of the backup. “He’s very smart, very intelligent.”
While Notre Dame and Indiana both have great defenses, neither are as statistically as good as what Stockton saw in the SEC Championship game.
Stockton has also spent the previous three years matching up against the Georgia defense every day in practice. He’s played against first-round draft picks over that time, including potentially Walker. The Georgia linebacker won the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s top linebacker.
Helping Stockton will be a Georgia defense that played one of its best games against Texas. The Bulldogs had six sacks and 15 tackles for loss against Texas, with the latter being a program record under Smart.
Whoever Stockton ends up seeing, the rest of the Georgia team will be battle-tested, having already played four games against playoff teams this season.
“I believe that we took the initiative of going week by week, moment by moment, as we did,” Walker said. “We didn’t look too far ahead of opponents and we didn’t think about our trials or games in the past. I feel like we had the initiative of planning accordingly to each game and being successful when it comes down to Saturday.”
Georgia has had some time to get Stockton some extra reps, with the Bulldogs benefiting from the bye week granted to them with an SEC Championship win.
“I feel like we’re doing a great job having our preparation for the Sugar Bowl,” Walker said. “We’ve taken it day by day, getting our practice days in and, of course, getting our preparation of recovery as well. But I feel like our coaching staff has a great plan for them to game plan for Notre Dame and Indiana because we don’t know who will play until Friday night.”
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