# Gunner Stockton

Gunner Duvall Stockton is an American football quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs.

## Early life and high school

Stockton was born in Tiger, Georgia, to Rob and Sherri Stockton, both former collegiate athletes. Rob played football at Georgia Southern and Sherri played basketball at Erskine College. He was named after one of his great-grandfathers, V.D. Stockton, a World War II veteran who served in a plane, earning the nickname Gunner. Stockton grew up in a family of Georgia Bulldogs fans, his grandfather Lawrence Stockton was a University of Georgia alumnus and ticket holder who was sprayed with firehoses and arrested after the 1986 edition of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry for rushing No. 8 Auburn's field following a Georgia upset victory. Lawrence died of a heart attack in 2010 exiting EverBank Stadium after watching Georgia lose to Florida 34–31 in overtime in their annual rivalry game.
Stockton began playing quarterback for his youth football team at age six and was trained by George Bobo, the father of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. He attended Rabun County High School and played baseball and football; he was a two-time baseball All-American but was best in football. As a freshman, Stockton earned the football team's starting quarterback job and led them to a region championship and state playoff quarterfinals appearance. That season, he threw for 2,917 yards and 34 touchdowns to only six interceptions while completing 65 percent of his passes, additionally running for 709 yards and 17 touchdowns with an average of 6.8 yards-per-carry. He was named the Football Player of the Year by newspaper Now Habersham for his performance.
Stockton became highly recruited and was invited to the 2022 All-American Bowl after his freshman season, receiving offers from Alabama and Penn State. As a sophomore in 2019, he threw for 3,472 yards and 43 touchdowns while running for 1,179 yards and 16 scores. He became a five-star recruit for the Class of 2022 and was ranked the best dual-threat quarterback nationally 247Sports. Prior to the 2020 season, Stockton's junior year, he committed to play college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks over the Georgia Bulldogs. In 2020, he threw for 3,128 yards and 45 touchdowns and ran for 1,581 yards and a further 26 touchdowns, helping Rabun County reach the state playoff semifinals with a 12–2 record.
After South Carolina dismissed coaches Will Muschamp and Mike Bobo, Stockton flipped his commitment to Georgia. As a senior in 2021, he led them to the state playoff quarterfinals again with a 12–2 record while throwing for 4,134 yards, 55 touchdowns and only one interception, being named All-State for the fourth time in his career and being named the Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year. He set the state records in passing touchdowns, total passing and rushing touchdowns and combined passing and rushing yards. He totaled 13,562 passing yards and 177 passing touchdowns at Rabun County while also running for 4,372 yards and 77 touchdowns in his career.

## College career

Stockton enrolled early at Georgia in January 2022. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2022, completing one pass for nine yards in the annual G-Day intrasquad game. He was a member of their 2022 national championship team. In the 2023 G-Day game, he completed 13-of-22 pass attempts for 144 yards, no touchdown and an interception while running for one score. He battled Carson Beck and Brock Vandagriff for a starting role in the 2023 season, with Beck winning and Stockton being the third-string behind Vandagriff. He made his collegiate debut in a win over the UT Martin Skyhawks, completing three-of-five passes for 29 yards. Stockton saw further action in games against Ball State and UAB, ending the regular season with six completions on nine attempts for 52 yards with an interception. He also appeared in the team's 2023 Orange Bowl win over Florida State, throwing for 96 yards and two touchdowns.
Entering the 2024 season, Stockton was listed as the backup quarterback behind Beck. In the 2024 SEC Championship Game, Stockton replaced Beck after halftime, following an injury to Beck. He threw for 72 yards and an interception, as Georgia went on to win 22–19 in overtime. With Beck ruled out for the remainder of the season, Stockton was thrusted into the starting role to begin the Bulldogs' College Football Playoff run, beginning in the 2025 Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame. In his first career start, he threw for 234 yards and a touchdown in a 23–10 loss, ending the Bulldogs' season.

### Statistics

| Season | Team | Games | Games | Games | Passing | Passing | Passing | Passing | Passing | Passing | Passing | Passing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing |
| Season | Team | GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2022 | Georgia | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt |
| 2023 | Georgia | 4 | 0 | 0–0 | 12 | 19 | 63.2 | 148 | 7.8 | 2 | 1 | 152.8 | 11 | 63 | 5.7 | 0 |
| 2024 | Georgia | 5 | 1 | 0–1 | 45 | 64 | 70.3 | 440 | 6.9 | 1 | 1 | 130.1 | 21 | −13 | −0.6 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 9 | 1 | 0–1 | 57 | 83 | 68.7 | 588 | 7.1 | 3 | 2 | 135.3 | 32 | 50 | 1.6 | 0 |