Gunner Duvall Stockton is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

Early life

Stockton was born in

Tiger, Georgia Tiger is a town in Rabun County, Georgia, United States. The population was 574 at the 2020 census, up from 408 at the 2010 census. History The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Tiger as a town in 1904. There are two popular legends as to t ...

, to Rob and Sherrie Stockton, both former collegiate athletes. Rob played football at Georgia Southern and Sherri played basketball at

Erskine College Erskine College is a private Christian college in Due West, South Carolina, United States. It is an undergraduate liberal arts college and a graduate theological seminary. The college was founded in 1839 by the Associate Reformed Presbyteri ...

. He was named after one of his great-grandfathers, V.D. Stockton, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran who served in a plane, earning the nickname Gunner. Stockton grew up in a family of

fans, his grandfather Lawrence Stockton was a

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

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 Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

following a Georgia upset victory. Lawrence died of a heart attack in 2010 exiting

EverBank Stadium EverBank Stadium is an American football stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is the home facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL), and the headquarters of the professional wrestling promotions Al ...

after watching Georgia lose to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

34–31 in overtime in their annual rivalry game. Stockton began playing

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 The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

but was best in football. As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

, 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

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s to only six

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s 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 The All-American Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977 to 1990. The game was known as the Hall of Fame Classic from 1977 to 1985. In 1986, the National Football Foundatio ...

after his freshman season, receiving offers from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

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 In gridiron football, a dual-threat quarterback is a quarterback (QB) who is adept at both passing and running with the ball. With the rise of several blitz-heavy defensive schemes and faster defensive players, the importance of a mobile quarter ...

nationally

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

. Prior to the 2020 season, Stockton's junior year, he committed to play

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

over the

. 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 Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

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 Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

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 Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, 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 The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...

run, beginning in the

2025 Sugar Bowl The 2025 Sugar Bowl (officially known as the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2025, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ...

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

References

External links

Georgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stockton, Gunner Living people Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Rabun County, Georgia American football quarterbacks Georgia Bulldogs football players