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<\/p>\nGunner Stockton has guided Georgia to a No. 4 ranking in the College Football Playoffs. The Dawgs are 10-1 in his starts. He\u2019s in the Heisman conversation. <\/p>\n
His father, Rob, has seen it all from the stands. He just hasn\u2019t heard one lick of it. <\/p>\n
Every time the Dawgs have the ball, he pops his earbuds in and clicks the \u201cUGA 14\u2033 playlist that Gunner\u2019s older sister, Georgia, saved on his phone.<\/p>\n
It is one song.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a big fan of that song \u2018Thank You, Lord\u2019 by Thomas Rhett,\u201d Rob Stockton said. \u201cI listen to it on replay while we\u2019re on offense the whole time. So all I hear is that song.\u201d <\/p>\n
When Stockton launched that crucial fourth-down pass in Knoxville, his father didn\u2019t hear Neyland go silent. He heard Rhett\u2019s chorus about summer nights on a porch swing and getting down on his knees. <\/p>\n
About being humble. Stumbles. For Momma. For friends. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time we go on offense,\u201d Rob Stockton said. \u201cI can\u2019t stand to hear anybody, even if it is just a sigh, or an \u2018Aw, he was open\u2019 or whatever. It kind of gets your blood boiling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI put that on, play it as loud as it can play and listen to that song over and over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rob was the defensive coordinator for Gunner\u2019s teams at Rabun County High. He\u2019s also in the Georgia Southern Hall of Fame for his career as a hard-hitting safety.<\/p>\n
Rhett\u2019s tune settles the nerves he and his wife, Sherrie, are feeling. Both were college athletes. They are competitive folks, but being the parents of QB1 at Georgia is not for the meek. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt truly kind of says what my wife and I are feeling,\u201d Rob Stockton said. <\/p>\n
One of the first jerseys he bought Gunner was a No. 54 for NFL All-Pro Brian Urlacher. The vision was a linebacker until some pretty smart folks told Rob he was \u201ccrazy\u201d if he didn\u2019t think Gunner was a quarterback. <\/p>\n
Stockton prepares to lead Georgia against Georgia Tech on Friday. It is the first matchup since 2014 in which both teams have been ranked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never knew how fun it was to be the backup quarterback\u2019s parents,\u201d Rob Stockton said while laughing. \u201cYou don\u2019t know that until you become the quarterback\u2019s parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is proof that you care when you are nervous and anxious. It\u2019s to another level when your child is the one doing it at that level.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Stocktons stay off social media, but when they see numbers like 10 million-plus viewers are watching an ESPN game, it gets real.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody watches the quarterback,\u201d Stockton said.<\/p>\n
Stockton\u2019s parents weren\u2019t anxious when they played. It is different watching their son. <\/p>\n
\u201cSherrie might look more nervous but I may be the duck on the pond that looks calm on the water but under the water their feet are pedaling 100 miles an hour,\u201d Rob Stockton said.<\/p>\n
The moments have come fast. <\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely the favorite moments are just the scoreboards at the end of these games,\u201d Rob Stockton said. \u201cHe\u2019s done a great job of keeping the scoreboard with Georgia being ahead of the opponent, the main thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s appreciated some first downs that No. 14 picked up with his arm or legs. The kind where the average fan wouldn\u2019t recognize how much it actually meant. The development of this offense has also stood out, even amid key injuries. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite thing has been the spontaneous celebration for whoever does well in any game,\u201d Rob Stockton said. \u201cThe freshman [Bo] Walker is scoring his first touchdown. Or Gunner throwing a touchdown. You watch those 11 on the field celebrating and it is just a beacon of light on this team. You just see it\u2019s not pre-rehearsed or fake. Just spontaneous, sincere, fun celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colbie Young said something about the Georgia quarterback Rob loved. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe just wants to be perfect,\u201d Young said. \u201cWe always tell him nobody\u2019s perfect in this world, Gunner. You\u2019ll be alright and he\u2019s like \u2018Nah, I gotta get it. I gotta do this again,\u2019 and his confidence and wanting to be great just instills in us that we\u2019ve got to be better.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Georgia QB Gunner Stockton has excelled in his first season as the starter this year. He’s led the Dawgs to a 10-1 record heading into the Georgia Tech game this week. (Jeff Sentell\/ DawgNation) (Jeff Sentell\/Dawgnation)<\/p>\n
Gunner Stockton has \u201cunleashed hell\u201d<\/p>\n
That dagger against Texas also stands out.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnbelievable excitement just to see your child reaping some satisfaction,\u201d Rob Stockton said. \u201cAs a family, we don\u2019t really take a ton of time to celebrate sometimes. It is just on to the next thing. But that moment, when he crossed the goal line, you could see through his facemask and see that \u2018hell yes\u2019 moment.\u201d <\/p>\n
That \u201chell yes\u201d line brings this back to Gunner\u2019s high school days when Rob aptly described his hopes for his son\u2019s career. It combines everything the family creed, if there was one, might adhere to about living right and playing right. <\/p>\n
\u201cA goal for our family has been for both of our kids to love the Lord,\u201d Rob Stockton said. \u201cI know that will seem like a clich\u00e9 so much now, but we pray that they truly love the Lord, but do not have to tell people about it. Do you know what I mean by that? Where they will just look at you and can tell that you love the Lord. By your actions and then just your spirit. Not their words.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will know you by that when you are in the classroom or on the field. They just sense that something special about you. Not because of you. But a greater deal there. Who you follow in life.\u201d<\/p>\n
It did not mean a meek spirit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith all that said, I have begged of him to be that when he is outside the white lines,\u201d his father continued. \u201cThe kindest. The gentlest. The best friend. Opening doors for women and \u2018yes ma\u2019am\u2019 and \u2018no ma\u2019am\u2019 and that\u2019s him. Thankfully. But when you step across those white lines, then that is time to unleash hell. Be that person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stockton has unleashed 2,465 passing yards and 27 touchdowns of hell on opponents this season. He\u2019s done so while maintaining a 71 percent completion rate in his first year as a starter.<\/p>\n
His high school coach, Jaybo Shaw, saw Stockton set Georgia state records, throwing for 13,652 yards and 177 touchdowns. He ran for another 77 scores.<\/p>\n
This season brings to mind Stockton\u2019s senior year. He threw 55 touchdowns to just one interception. He ran for 15 more scores. Shaw was a 3-star coming out of high school who started at Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern.<\/p>\n
Shaw is now at Dawson County. He\u2019s won 58 games in seven seasons as a head coach, but he\u2019s now the \u2018Guy who coached Gunner Stockton in high school\u2019 for the rest of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so far beyond good with that, words cannot describe it,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cIf there were a way, it would be the amount of love and how proud I am. Do you know what I mean? You sit there watching TV and just catch yourself smiling. Grinning. Just so happy for him. This is all pretty friggin cool, man.\u201d <\/p>\n
When Stockton went Superman for his TD at Auburn, it made Shaw think of a similar play against Pierce County. That clutch throw to London Humphreys is now the best ball he\u2019s ever seen him throw. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s coming from a coach who saw Stockton attempt 1,273 passes and average 4.79 touchdowns per game in high school. <\/p>\n
\u201cHands down,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cNot close. That throw right there in that situation. It was fourth down. Opposite hash. To the far pylon. The Humphreys guy was the only one who could make the play. Just elite elite quarterback play right there, man.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Prince Avenue coach Greg Vandagriff (left) and Rabun County coach Jaybo Shaw share a laugh prior to their game on Friday night. (Jeff Sentell\/DawgNation)\/Dawgnation)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) dives for a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Auburn, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo\/Butch Dill) (Butch Dill\/Associated Press Photo Stream)<\/p>\n
Did we see this coming with Gunner Stockton? <\/p>\n
While trying to find the right amount of perspective to sum up what DawgNation has been seeing this fall, two words come to mind. <\/p>\n
Labels. Signs.<\/p>\n
If one\u2019s vocation is to trumpet who\u2019s a 5-star this and that, there is a proper reflection of the hypocrisy there. There is an awareness of how that star ranking now stamps every player who comes to Athens to play for Georgia. Right or wrong. <\/p>\n
These players come in with expectations for what they can be in Athens. Georgia doesn\u2019t think that way. The stars don\u2019t decide who can and cannot play for the staff. The practice field does. The intangibles do. <\/p>\n
Stockton has more 5-star intangibles than the cattle herd he\u2019s famous for.<\/p>\n
When Stockton said this year he can\u2019t lie down on the field after a big hit from a defender, his father told him that. He felt it gave the opponent extra juice when they saw the quarterback lying useless on the ground. <\/p>\n
Shaw describes another benefit. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen it since he put on a helmet,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cI\u2019ve been a part of those conversations of hearing Rob say that. What it does for us at that time, as a team at the high school level, you just knew Gunner was going to get up. It is basically an adrenaline shot to everybody on his team. That\u2019s another, probably the proudest moment as a coach. The boy is just tough. I say boy, I mean a grown man.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHe cares about his teammates. We all know Gunner is not the most outspoken. He\u2019s very reserved, but I remember telling you this when he was coming out of high school. He doesn\u2019t say a whole lot, but the way he communicates to his teammates about how much he loves them. He\u2019s so freaking tough. He\u2019s going to get up because he doesn\u2019t want to do anything to affect his team negatively. He\u2019s going to sacrifice his body. It is all about the team. I\u2019m just proud now that it continues on the biggest stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The way Stockton affects his team, just by the way he handles himself every day, might be his biggest strength.<\/p>\n
Most forget that Stockton was originally a 5-star recruit. He didn\u2019t have the prototype size. He also didn\u2019t attend the Elite 11 and showcase camps. <\/p>\n
While he missed opportunities to earn his fifth star back, it was because he had promised his team that he\u2019d attend every spring and summer workout. Stockton was also part of a movement among his senior class that ensured they cleaned the locker room every week so the custodian didn\u2019t have to do much heavy lifting. <\/p>\n
Those were signs of what he could be.<\/p>\n
There were tells from other elite prospects who played with Stockton while preparing for high school ball. Former Alabama OL Tyler Booker said he\u2019d consider Georgia strongly for the chance to play with Stockton. <\/p>\n
He made that big of an impression.<\/p>\n
There was a 7-on-7 practice. When Stockton walked to the field, he was the same \u201caw shucks\u201d self we see now in all his UGA interviews. Zero flamboyance. Yet his peers were drawn to that.<\/p>\n
Players don\u2019t react to each other the way they did that morning. Not even the 5-star QBs. Some of the things said weren\u2019t politically correct, but it was the honest appreciation you hear between water breaks when football players talk.<\/p>\n
Malaki Starks, now in the NFL, has shared a story from when Stockton was playing safety. Starks had the ball in his hands. Stockton drilled him. It was such a jolt that Starks briefly considered retiring from football before he got to high school. The boys were probably about 10 years old then.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the grit Stockton showed barreling for the goal line in the SEC Championship Game. But the SEC doesn\u2019t reward quarterbacks on Saturdays with just Hallmark backstories. They must be able to spin it. Stockton could always throw it. <\/p>\n
That goes back to when he was six years old, being coached by the father of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Georgia QB Gunner Stockton has excelled in his first season as the starter this year. He’s led the Dawgs to a 10-1 record heading into the Georgia Tech game this week. (Jeff Sentell\/ DawgNation) (Jeff Sentell\/Dawgnation)<\/p>\n