ATHENS — “Mountain Blood.”
Those who have spent any significant time living in the upper fifth or so of our fair state take such an expression to heart. It’s different up there in the mountains, just as South Georgia is markedly different from Metro Atlanta, which is nothing at all like the mountain towns that dot the winding roads where the foothills start the climb to the Appalachian Plateau, the Georgia Gold Belt and the Blue Ridge. If one was born and raised in any of those areas, they’re said to have “mountain blood.”
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton has mountain blood.
The Bulldogs’ new starting quarterback hails from Rabun County in Northeast Georgia. Stockton lists his hometown as Tiger, rather than the better-known county seat of Clayton, and his family goes back many generations there.
Jaybo Shaw, Stockton’s coach Rabun County High School, was asked what it means to have mountain blood.
“The first thing that comes to mind to me is toughness,” Shaw said. “A place like Rabun County prides itself on being tough, on people who can get through some tough times and rely on each other and make things happen.”
Shaw said Stockton’s mountain toughness was on full display for all to see in those critical final seconds of Georgia’s overtime win over Texas for the SEC Championship.
On second-and-8 from the Longhorns’ 12-yard line, Stockton took off on a designed run up the middle when he was blasted with a side-of-the-head hit from safety Andrew Mukuba that sent Stockton’s helmet flying.
As television replays and still photography clearly showed, Stockton was momentarily knocked unconscious by the hit. His eyes rolled back in his head as he landed flat on his back on the 4-yard line with his right leg wildly contorted backward.
Watching the broadcast from his new home in Dawsonville, Shaw is pretty sure he didn’t breathe for the next minute or so.
“My first reaction was, ‘Is he OK?’ Then I saw him get up,” Shaw shared. “But just knowing him, two things about that play didn’t surprise me: One, he didn’t slide; number two, he held onto the football.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Indeed, with Stockton knocked cold, the football never left his chest, where it was tightly pressed in his right arm. With Texas flagged for targeting, the thought was he would remain in the game. Stockton was involved in the sideline discussion about the next play-call when the foul was overruled by video-replay officials. That meant he’d have to sit out the next play for losing his helmet.
It’s the stuff of Georgia football lore now. Carson Beck, his ulnar collateral ligament stretched beyond its limits, returned to hand off the ball to Trevor Etienne, who ran it through a big hole at left tackle for the game-winning touchdown, an SEC Championship and the coveted first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.
Stockton’s only interview since coming to Georgia occurred during a quick 30-second exchange on the field with ESPN’s Holly Rowe at the end of the game.
“I think it just comes back to the love I have for everybody in the locker room, all the seniors,” Stockton said. “I just wanted them to go out the right way. It’s pretty awesome.”
Trailing 6-3 when Beck was sidelined at the end of the first half, Stockton rallied the Bulldogs to victory. His performance was far from perfect (12 of 16 passing, one interception, 78 total yards), but it delivered the “W.”
Shaw thought it was a beautiful illustration of Stockton’s mountain makeup.
“That comes from where he grew up, the town that he was raised in, how he was raised,” Shaw said. “Mountain blood. Toughness.”
Those mountain traits will be put to the ultimate test next week as the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs (11-2) head to the lowlands to take on No. 7 Notre Dame (12-1) in the quarterfinal Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on New Year’s Day (8:45 p.m., ABC).
As if there is not enough intrigue surrounding this game, it will be the 44th anniversary of Georgia’s 17-10 victory over the Fighting Irish on Jan. 1, 1981. That secured the Bulldogs’ second national championship in school history, a total that has been doubled since.
Notre Dame advanced after beating No. 10 Indiana much worse than the 27-17 final score indicated in a first-round game in South Bend. By the time Georgia and Notre Dame finally line up for the pregame coin toss, it will have been 25 days since the Bulldogs last played.
Where Stockton is concerned, that’s thought to be mostly a good thing. The three weeks and change should provide both Stockton and the Bulldogs plenty of time to fully acclimate to his unique style of play, which is markedly different than his predecessor.
“Just experience, just practices,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of Stockton’s indoctrination as QB1. “He got lots of reps prior to these practices, but he’s getting much more now. I do think getting ready for an opponent like Notre Dame, you need time. We haven’t known who we were going to play but for 72 hours now. We prepared for some before that, but the biggest thing is just competition in practice and the situations we put him in.”
Stockton is significantly more of a dual-threat quarterback than Beck, who has not been with the team while “exploring options” on repairs to his elbow. But neither are the Bulldogs expected to completely retool their offense in the interim.
While Beck was more of a pocket-passer, Georgia’s offense remained zone-read based. With Stockton in the game, those reads should simply provide more legitimacy to the run threat.
In one half of play against a stout Texas defense, Stockton ripped off four decent runs, including two that resulted in first downs. He finished with eight rushing yards, a total including a 16-yard sack that also resulted in a fumble, which went out of bounds. He had one particularly egregious interception and another that was wiped up by penalty.
So, there remains much to clean up before his first career start. And Stockton will face a Notre Dame defense that ranks third nationally in points allowed (13.8), fourth against the pass (162.3 ypg) and eighth in total defense (295.3).
Former Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm also got his first career start against Notre Dame in South Bend in 2017.
“Kirby is going to do all that he can to protect Gunner and to make sure he puts him in a position to succeed,” Fromm told DawgNation Daily. “Get him in a position to use his legs when they want him to use his legs, find easy completions. ... They’re not just going to give Gunner the entire team right out of the gate and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to put everything on your shoulders.’”
Shaw contends that Stockton would be up for it if Georgia dumped it all on him. As Stockton has toiled as a reserve quarterback, first behind Stetson Bennett and then Beck, Shaw found himself having to remind folks of his former pupil’s exploits up in the mountains. How quickly everyone seems to have forgotten that Stockton still holds the Georgia state high school records for career passing touchdowns (177), career passing yards (13,652) and rushing touchdowns (77).
Stockton started at quarterback all four years he attended Rabun County, including his freshman year when Lee Shaw was head coach and Jaybo Shaw was coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
“He grew up on a ballfield, whether it was a baseball diamond or a football field,” Jaybo Shaw said. “The competitive nature has always been there with Gunner. And that goes back to before I was born, with my dad coaching Gunner’s dad at Rabun County and his dad coaching him before that. That boy was throwing a football by the time he could walk.”
Gunner’s father, Rob Stockton, starred at Rabun County and earned a Hall of Fame induction playing defensive back at Georgia Southern. Rob was defensive coordinator at Rabun County under Lee Shaw, so Gunner literally grew up around the program.
Accordingly, Stockton benefited early from some excellent coaching. His first quarterback coach was George Bobo, father of Mike, who was in Rabun County as an assistant coach under former coach Sonny Smart, father of Kirby.
Lee Shaw, another Sonny Smart assistant, returned to Rabun County after a successful run at Flowery Branch. That’s when Stockton was able to meet South Carolina star quarterback Connor Shaw, who would provide him with some training and guidance.
In turn, that put Stockton on the Gamecocks’ radar quite early in high school. At the time, their head coach was Will Muschamp, whose director of player development was Connor Shaw and whose offensive coordinator would become Mike Bobo.
To the surprise of no one in Rabun County, Stockton became an early commitment for South Carolina. But that fell apart when Muschamp and Bobo were fired. Soon thereafter came an offer from the Bulldogs, and Stockton pounced on it.
“Even when he committed to South Carolina, my brother and I would laugh to each other, ‘I don’t know if Kirby’s gonna allow this one to get out of the state of Georgia,’” Jaybo said. “Obviously we’ve known the Smarts for a long time; we’ve known the Bobos for an extremely long time. So, it all shook out pretty fast when all that change happened. But I think it was always destined for that boy to be in Athens, hell or high water. He belongs wearing that ‘G.’”
Stockton will wear the hopes and dreams of Bulldog Nation when Georgia and Notre Dame meet for the third time in eight years and fourth time ever. It will be Stockton’s ninth college game. The first seven included half-quarters of mop-up duty against vanquished opponents. The backdrop for this one will be the Caesars Superdome in a win-or-go-home scenario.
Those mountain folk don’t seem worried.
“There’s not one bit of sense in me that’s thinking, ‘oh, no, don’t mess up,’” Jaybo Shaw said. “It’s more excitement, because I know the work he’s put in. I know he finally gets this opportunity to showcase what he can do.”
It’s not just how Stockton plays. It’s as much or more about how those around him perform.
Shaw also pointed out how Stockton’s teammates responded when he came into the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Georgia’s bench rippled with energy as soon as Stockton started his warm-up tosses and exploded in celebration when he lowered his shoulder rather than slide down on his first run out of the backfield.
“I thought that spoke absolute volumes, the way the sideline erupted,” Shaw said. “He makes that pass to the tight end, who makes an unbelievable catch and gets his foot down. Then when Trevor (Etienne) scored, the celebration in the end zone was intense. The energy of the team, you could feel it through the TV.
“I know I’m biased, but I felt like everybody elevated around him, including the defense. That was so cool to watch.”
There is only one explanation: Must be that mountain blood.
SUGAR BOWL (CFP PLAYOFF)
Georgia vs. Notre Dame at New Orleans, Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m., ESPN, 750 AM, 95.5 FM
