Kirk Herbstreit thinks Georgia QB Gunner Stockton is worthy of Heisman buzz

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Kirk Herbstreit thinks Georgia QB Gunner Stockton is worthy of Heisman buzz

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit thinks Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton should garner Heisman Trophy consideration. Herbstreit said the Heisman race is “so wide open” during Georgia‘s dominant 35-10 win over the Texas Longhorns.

“This kid (Stockton), he’s played so well in these big games,” Herbstreit added. “He had five total touchdowns tonight and five incompletions against Texas, top-10 team.”

This performance is nothing new for Stockton. Against Ole Miss, another top-10 opponent he had five incompletions and five total touchdowns too. That means in Stockton’s two games against top-10 foes (at the time), he has 10 total touchdowns, 10 incompletions and his team is 2-0.

Stockton has helped Georgia have comeback victories over Tennessee, Auburn and Florida. His signature moment of the season has to be his fourth down pass to receiver London Humphreys against Tennessee.

Stockton has the third-best QBR of any quarterback in college football. He has 27 total touchdowns and three interceptions. Stockton has 2,269 passing yards and 350 rushing yards. His stats aren’t quite where they need to be for a Heisman-winning quarterback, but they aren’t far away from the numbers Stetson Bennett was putting up in 2022, which was enough for him to be invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony.

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) throws a pass in the second half against the Texas Longhorns

I’d argue that what is hurting Stockton statistically more than anything else is the numbers he put up against Austin Peay. Stockton had 227 passing yards, 13 rushing yards and no touchdowns against one of his easiest opponents of the season.

“His decision-making has been good,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Stockton. “And look, I mean, he is a great player. He is a great competitor. But he also benefits from a really good offensive line. And Mike (Bobo) and the offensive staff, I mean, people don’t give our offensive staff enough credit. I mean, they do a tremendous job, and we’re hard to defend.

“There’s three touchdowns on a quarterback run, and then all of a sudden he’s running the quarterback run. And there’s a guy wide open in the back of the end zone that ran right by you that didn’t block you, and I mean, it’s a great play. And you can’t do them unless you’ve got a quarterback like Gunner that can execute with the words and the language and command the huddle and manage the clock. He’s playing at a high level and a high clip right now.”

Former Georgia TE Ben Watson weighs in

Stockton’s teammate TE Oscar Delp campaigns for him

“Bring him to New York,” Georgia tight end Oscar Delp said.

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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Georgia QB Gunner Stockton deserves more Heisman buzz

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