An underrated aspect of Kirby Smart’s run with the Georgia Bulldogs.
This past weekend was yet another reminder of just how great a coach Kirby Smart is. A top-10 opponent came to town, and Smart’s team walked out of their own building with a 35-10 win over the Texas Longhorns. In the second half, Georgia went on to convert two 4th downs, recovered an onside kick and turned a game that was 14-10 into a 28-10 game before Steve Sarkisian could even blink.
A major factor in Georgia’s win on Saturday was the performance of quarterback Gunner Stockton. He finished the game with 229 passing yards, five total touchdowns, 29 rushing yards and was 24/29 on the day. Another big performance from the Georgia starter in one of their biggest games of the season.
It’s become a major talking point on the season for the Bulldogs. What many labeled as a down year at quarterback for the Bulldogs coming into the season has turned into this guy might be one of the best quarterbacks in the country. It serves as a reminder of one of the most underrated aspects of Kirby Smart’s run at Georgia.
This is year 10 for Smart as the head coach at Georgia. Of all those seasons, just two of them can be labeled as years in which Georgia did not have good quarterback play.
Nov 15, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) throws a pass in the second half against the Texas Longhorns at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The 2020 season was the first. Georgia started the year with Dwan Mathis, who was eventually pulled in the first game of the season, which led to Stetson Bennett taking over. He held the starting role for Georgia until he suffered an injury against Florida, which led to JT Daniels being the starter for the remainder of the season. A season that was already a mess before it even started due to the global pandemic, and because Jamie Newman elected to sit out for the entire season.
The second season came in 2024. Carson Beck returned as the starter for Georgia after an impressive 2023 season as a first-year starter. Beck had an issue turning the ball over, and it was compounded with Georgia’s issue with dropping passes that season. Perhaps it could be classified as a “wash” as not everything was on Beck, but he certainly did not provide consistent play for the Bulldogs that year.
An argument could be made that the 2016 season belongs on this list. Greyson Lambert started the year as the starter, but true freshman Jacob Eason quickly took the job over. However, with Smart’s first season as a head coach and the need to rely on a true freshman, it feels a bit unfair to include that season.
It’s not just that in eight out of ten seasons, Georgia has had solid seasons from their quarterback. It’s the number of seasons in which it happened that it didn’t seem possible. In 2017, Eason went down with an injury in the first game of the season. True freshman Jake Fromm takes over and the Dawgs play for a national title that year. In 2021, Daniels suffered an injury and walk-on Bennett led Georgia to a national title. In 2023, a first-year starter in Beck leads Georgia to an undefeated regular season and the SEC title game. Now, in 2025, first-year starter Stockton has Georgia in a prime position to make a playoff run this season.
You would have a hard time finding another program that has had as consistent of quarterback play as Georgia has had in the 10 years under Smart. That’s not to say Georgia is the only one to do this, but it certainly is the norm in college football for programs to consistently be as sound as Georgia has been under center.
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