Whitewater rafting trip showed Georgia all it needed about Gunner Stockton

Teammates love his calm and happy demeanor. Instead of driving the fastest sports car, he has a Ford pickup truck, though a newer one than the 1984 version he drove in high school.

On a recent white-water rafting trip with the Georgia team, Stockton was sitting at the front of the boat and bore the brunt of the North Carolina rapids.

“They explained this was the most risky position,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “You may fall out. When you go over a rapid, you’ll be nose down, and you’re the first to go down into the water. Obviously had a life jacket. Made it as safe as we possibly could.

“But he chose to jump into that seat. I think that says a lot about who he is.”

As Georgia fans saw last season, Stockton never ducks from contact. Perhaps that was a determinant, especially given some of the violent hits he took. He was dealing with an oblique injury against Ole Miss in October, though he still accounted for five touchdowns in the win.

Stockton took two brutal hits in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal rematch against Ole Miss, a game in which he didn’t play quite as well. Going from great to merely good was the difference in a season-ending loss for the Bulldogs.

Entering his second season as Georgia’s starter, Stockton knows the bar he has to clear.

Winning an SEC championship, something he’s done the last two years, would be good. A national championship, something Georgia won when he was a freshman, would qualify as the great height Stockton hopes to reach.

“The thing is, you know, we’ve been up short the past two years,” Stockton said. “It’s definitely going to be something we’re trying to work toward.”

This is Stockton’s second SEC media days, something he and his coach acknowledge as a bit of a rarity. He was able to give tips and pointers to fellow Bulldogs Raylen Wilson and Drew Bobo.

Having Bobo on hand is significant for Stockton, beyond the fact the two are close friends. The Georgia offense took a noticeable step back when Bobo suffered a season-ending foot injury against Georgia Tech in late November.

Bobo was one of the best offensive linemen in the country when healthy last season, and Georgia is optimistic he’ll be able to start this season in top form.

The center should make life easier for Stockton, especially given the real questions the Bulldogs face at wide receiver. London Humphreys is the only player from the position group who caught more than 15 passes last season.

More will be asked of Stockton this season. Bobo knows Stockton can handle the upcoming challenges head-on.

“Everyone on the team would be friends with him,” Bobo said. “And I think he does a really good job balancing that. But when he needs to be ready to go, intense, I think he does a really good job of that on the field. He kind of flips a switch.”

Perhaps no player better represents their football team in the SEC than Stockton. He’s everything you’d want a quarterback to be when it comes to intangibles. He has experience and has played at a high level.

But questions linger about how great Stockton can be entering 2026 and whether he can lead Georgia to a national championship.

“For me, I try not to judge my success on other people’s failures. Coach (Mike) Bobo always says that,” Stockton said. “But truly, doing what we’re coached, day in and day out, just doing your job and going and working, and truly believing that that will pay off. If you believe what they say, put in the work that you believe in yourself, it will pay off in the end.”

The difference between good and great is both an inch and a mile. It’s hard to define, but everyone knows it when they see it.

That’s the challenge for Stockton this season. But Stockton relishes the opportunity, as he’s ready to get knocked around again.

“Last year, there’s a bunch of naysayers, a bunch of doubters and people that’ll praise you,” Stockton said. “But the people in the facility is what really matters. Truly believing in that going into this season and just being all about our team. We’re really excited for this season.”