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Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton has some doubters heading into his second season as the starting quarterback. Among them is ESPN, who ranks Stockton in the third tier of college football quarterbacks.
ESPN's David Hale puts Stockton in Tier 3, which he titles as the Sean Clifford tier. Clifford is a former Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback that had several solid, but not spectacular seasons during his six year career at Penn State. Clifford went 32-14 as the starter, yet did not have many notable wins over great teams. The Nittany Lions never won a conference championship under Clifford.
Comparing Stockton and Clifford is a bit ridiculous. Stockton has already won back-to-back SEC championships and has multiple College Football Playoff starts. Stockton has big wins over Alabama, Texas (twice), Ole Miss and more in his career. Stockton had more total touchdowns (34) and less interceptions (five) in his first full year as a starter than Clifford ever did in any season in his Penn State career.
Hale even goes on to mention Stockton's excellent stats against top-25 (SP+) defenses further weakening his argument. Stockton was a bit reliant on wide receiver Zachariah Branch at times, but he produced 26 touchdowns and no turnovers in the red zone. Stockton finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting for the 2025 season. He deserves to be in at least the second tier of college quarterbacks along with LSU's Sam Leavitt and USC's Jayden Maiava. Hale puts Oregon's Dante Moore in the second tier, but Moore should be in the first tier instead of overhyped Texas QB Arch Manning.
In Stockton's current tier, he's ranked somewhere from the No. 9 to No. 15 quarterback in the country. Stockton contributes a lot as a rusher and is the only quarterback in his tier to win a pair of Power Four conference championships. Stockton will look to prove Hale and the rest of the doubters wrong in 2026 and bring a national championship back to Georgia.
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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: ESPN puts Georgia football Gunner Stockton in CFB's third tier
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ESPN's David Hale puts Stockton in Tier 3, which he titles as the Sean Clifford tier. Clifford is a former Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback that had several solid, but not spectacular seasons during his six year career at Penn State. Clifford went 32-14 as the starter, yet did not have many notable wins over great teams. The Nittany Lions never won a conference championship under Clifford.
Comparing Stockton and Clifford is a bit ridiculous. Stockton has already won back-to-back SEC championships and has multiple College Football Playoff starts. Stockton has big wins over Alabama, Texas (twice), Ole Miss and more in his career. Stockton had more total touchdowns (34) and less interceptions (five) in his first full year as a starter than Clifford ever did in any season in his Penn State career.
Hale even goes on to mention Stockton's excellent stats against top-25 (SP+) defenses further weakening his argument. Stockton was a bit reliant on wide receiver Zachariah Branch at times, but he produced 26 touchdowns and no turnovers in the red zone. Stockton finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting for the 2025 season. He deserves to be in at least the second tier of college quarterbacks along with LSU's Sam Leavitt and USC's Jayden Maiava. Hale puts Oregon's Dante Moore in the second tier, but Moore should be in the first tier instead of overhyped Texas QB Arch Manning.
In Stockton's current tier, he's ranked somewhere from the No. 9 to No. 15 quarterback in the country. Stockton contributes a lot as a rusher and is the only quarterback in his tier to win a pair of Power Four conference championships. Stockton will look to prove Hale and the rest of the doubters wrong in 2026 and bring a national championship back to Georgia.
Follow UGA Wire on Instagram, Facebook, X or Threads for more Georgia football coverage!
This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: ESPN puts Georgia football Gunner Stockton in CFB's third tier
Continue reading...
