Gunner Stockton, the Carson Beck alternative for the Bulldogs, has already taken a lot of heat for the huge Sugar Bowl loss of the postseason. Of course, it wasn’t entirely Beck’s fault. You can also blame it on their OC Mike Bobo, but not entirely. If you see it from a clear technical perspective, it’s the entire offensive line that is responsible for a slump in Kirby Smart‘s offense. But it seems that regardless of the debate, Stockton is already in deep soup after Paul Heyman’s concerning take. ”I know everybody was enthralled by Gunner Stockton after the Sugar Bowl, I was not.” But little did Heyman know that Smart has always had a plan to sort the trouble out.
Stockton is not nearly as finished a product as Beck, who still left some credibility despite having an interception-filled and injury-bridled season. Stockton couldn’t get the chance to showcase his mojo in the gridiron or he didn’t nail that chance at all. Logging a few appearances in 2023 and 2024, he made his first start against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. While he boasts an average number of 83 career passing attempts, 440 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and one interception in 2024, his costly mistakes during the Sugar Bowl speak for his lack of experience. But this time, Smart and team will run him through tight scrutiny so that they don’t have to relive the cursed Carson Beck era.
On3‘s J.D. PicKell said, “It’s going to look very different offensively, I think Gunner Stockton will win the job but Georgia, I’ve been told from people close to that program they’re going to find a way to run the football like no matter the circumstance, they’re going to find a way to be a team that can punish you on the ground and when they do that you’ll have to respect the box a little bit more.” Looks like the Dawgs have a new strategy to implement this season.
Being a QB1 in the SEC can easily be tagged as one of the toughest jobs in the CFB, and it’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. But if you can work on your whole offensive performance and get some quality wide receivers as the safety net of the QB room, it can be a boom. A good running game can be the icing on the cake. “I expect Gunner Stockton to be mixed into that run game there’s an attitude there for Georgia. Now some of it’ll be new faces there’s no way around that, but I really believe that to be the case for them and that’s how they feel internally. On top of that Georgia went out and understood that they had some needs to meet a wide receiver,” PicKell added.
However, it’s not just that the change in some technical game plan is the only plot here. Smart plans some change in the overall mentality as well. “I’m not talking about a total scheme change I’m talking about overall mentality change so same thing we said about Ohio State,” Pickell raised the bar high for the Bulldogs.
However, even if Gunner will do the job, Georgia can relive the nightmare as they continue to be loyal to their offensive coordinator.
Is Georgia totally immune from the flashback of a past nightmare?
Tate Ratledge, the Georgia interior offensive lineman, stated that Carson Beck didn’t deserve the negative media attention throughout the past season. “He does seem a bit misunderstood, maybe; Carson’s a great kid. I mean, obviously Carson’s one of my best friends since I’ve been in Georgia; we lived with each other for three years, so me and him obviously have a different relationship. So. I knew how to approach Carson at different times and knew how the way I talked to him would affect him at that time. So, that was kind of my goal throughout the season to keep him as level-headed as possible. Again, Carson’s a great kid and very misunderstood.” It begs the question – what really made Beck a scapegoat of the system?
Tate believes Georgia’s offensive letdown is a product of their offensive coordinator choice, Mike Bobo, who couldn’t produce the ideal moments where Beck could shine. As Paul Finebaum agreed, “You can go down the street and a guy’s waiting for a bus, you go into a food court at a mall, and you can find somebody better than Mike Bobo.”
Sure, Mike Bobo is the problem, but if Kirby Smart chooses to stay awake on the other fronts, they can still go long.
The post National Analyst Confirms Kirby Smart’s Masterplan to Avoid Carson Beck Mistake After Ex-Georgia OL’s Blunt Exposé appeared first on EssentiallySports.
