ATHENS -- To truly appreciate the significant pull Gunner Stockton was feeling from different directions, one has to realize all the close relationships the Rabun County quarterback has in the community of Tiger, the small town with the tough name in extreme northeast Georgia.
- His coach, Jaybo Shaw, played college ball at Georgia Tech.
- His coach’s brother, Connor Shaw, was a star quarterback at South Carolina and remains on staff there.
- Mike Bobo has known him since before he left for Colorado State, then for South Carolina and finally Auburn.
- And then there was Georgia.
Stockton’s sister’s name is Georgia. She’s not named after the state or the university; it goes deeper than that. But her namesake underscores the University of Georgia’s influence in that mountain community. Georgia tight end Charlie Woerner came from there; UGA legend Scott Woerner taught school there and retired nearby; and Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s father Sonny Smart coached at Rabun County High for 10 years.
None of them knew Stockton would one day be a 5-star recruiting prospect. But when what was a relatively quiet and calm recruitment that ended last year with Stockton’s commitment to South Carolina was shattered by coach firings and job changes, it was fairly easy for the 6-foot-1, 220-pound quarterback to reassess his situation and decide to stay close to home.
That’s a general summarization of Stockton’s recruitment by Jaybo Shaw, who took over the Rabun County program for his father, Lee, in 2018 and inherited Stockton’s extraordinary talent as a byproduct. The AJC will sit down with Stockton at another time. In the meantime, Jaybo Shaw provided a glimpse of what the Bulldogs are getting in the nation’s No. 1-ranked dual-threat quarterback, who committed to Georgia on Thursday.
What did you think of the turn of events that led to Gunner’s commitment to UGA?
First off, I’m so proud and excited. Words don’t do justice of how happy I am for him. I know he’s at peace with his decision, and it was a tough decision at the beginning. But I know he’s at peace with it, and I’m so excited for him and excited for his family. He’s earned the opportunity to go play for the hometown school. So I’m just excited. That’s the first thing I’d tell you. I’m just excited and proud and happy for him.
Were all the coaching changes at South Carolina a factor?
It did. But I’m really proud of him and how he handled this whole situation, how he handled the unfortunate situation at South Carolina (coach Will Muschamp was fired during the season, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo later left for the same job at Auburn) and how that went down, how he handled that time period and didn’t rush his decision. I thought he showed great leadership and poise. It may not have been on the field, but he handled it like a leader and picked out a good situation for himself. I thought he did an awesome job during that time period.
How did your family handle the decommitment from South Carolina?
My brother’s obviously there at South Carolina. We’ve known Gunner and his family for a very long time, since I was playing high school ball and Connor was playing high school ball. So, from Day 1, we just want the best for Gunner. It’s a tough situation, dealing with South Carolina. Gunner struggled with it because of the relationship piece of it. But, at the end of the day, my whole family wants the best for Gunner and his whole family because that relationship runs real, real deep. So, I know it’s just a happy day for the Stockton family, and I’m happy for them as well.
What was the bottom line for him settling on the Bulldogs?
There’s something about playing for the home-state school. And us being close to Athens, Gunner felt really, really good about the relationships he had with coach Smart and coach (Todd) Monken, coach (Todd) Hartley, coach (Buster) Faulkner, down the line. They continued to recruit him, and Gunner’s at peace with it, and he’s so excited about it. I could tell that when he came in my office (Thursday) morning and told me what he wanted to do.
How would you describe Georgia’s recruitment?
I thought Kirby and them did a really good job. When he committed to South Carolina, they obviously gave him some space. But they kept the relationship going and kept recruiting him. As you saw, it paid off. I thought they did a really good job of managing Gunner through this whole process. That relationship with Kirby has been built for a long time now. They did a good job of managing the situation and continuing to recruit him.
Was Thursday a planned decision date?
Anybody who knows Gunner knows he wanted to go ahead and make a decision and know where he’s going. He just wanted to have that peace of mind so he could focus on his senior year of high school. We didn’t have this date necessarily planned out for him to make a decision on or anything like that. From what I heard from Gunner, he just felt really good about where he was at and could see himself wearing red and black and being in Athens. It was basically a “what am I waiting on?” type of deal. So, he just felt really good about it and did it.”
Obviously Gunner and Brock Vandagriff competed hard in a very high-profile game last fall. What’s the dynamic now that they’re going to be teammates?
They don’t have a problem playing together. I know Gunner has great respect for Brock and his talents. Obviously, he’s seen him firsthand and competed against him. I know they have great respect for each other. It’s definitely going to be exciting when Gunner gets on campus.
What’s Georgia getting in Gunner Stockton the football player and quarterback?
The No. 1 thing he brings is competitive toughness. Gunner loves to compete, no matter what it is, horseshoes, whatever, it doesn’t matter. Gunner loves to compete and he knows it brings the best out of him. His toughness comes out in the way he plays. Every down is fourth-and-1 for him. He loves everything about football, the working out, being with his teammates in the locker room, everything about the game of football, Gunner loves. For a quarterback especially, that’s important, the competitiveness, the toughness, the love for the game. Nobody is going to outshine Gunner in those three categories because that’s what he stands for and what the game means to him. As far as football talent, there’s not a throw that Gunner can’t make. The ball jumps out of his hand. He’s gotten so much better through his last three seasons at the high school level.
You’ve got him for another year. Where does he need to improve?
I’m excited about his senior year. There’s a lot of places where me and him both think he can grow. Mainly, situational football, defensive alignments, things like that. You can always continue to grow and Gunner and realizes that. Every time he puts on his helmet or walks into the facility is a time to get better. He loves to be coached, and I think sometimes that’s a lost art. He loves to be coached. So, there’s room for growth. He hasn’t even gotten close to his ceiling and I’m excited to see him grow.
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