Multiple question marks loom over Georgia collegiate football, from Gunner Stockton’s potential as a championship-level QB at UGA to how roster shakeups at Georgia Tech could affect their play. Here’s a breakdown to get you prepared for the ‘26-’27 season.
UGA
With a 39-34 loss to Ole Miss at The Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day this year being the end mark for UGA’s ‘25-’26 season, questions on how Kirby Smart and his team will adjust have been brought to the forefront.
College football’s pace is slowing, with fewer and fewer snap opportunities coming to rise in each game. With other head coaches like Texas coach Steve Sarkisian stating to ESPN that, “It’s very similar to an NFL-style game right now. The clock is running more, people are huddling more, and so you’re not seeing teams running 100 plays anymore, 105 plays. That era of college football has passed, and we’ve shifted now,” brings forth even more of a reason for Kirby to consider slight changes.
During a Fall Camp press conference, Kirby said to ESPN that, “We try to cater it to what we need in terms of the position groups, the depth, the development, the season, the order of the season, the number of SEC games, who do we play first. There are a lot of things that change within that, and I just think you have to change how you do things sometimes with these kids because they can get bored.”
Another hot topic is Gunner Stockton’s growth as quarterback throughout last season, fall camp, and into the upcoming season. Kirby Smart had this to say to Fall Camp press about Gunner’s senior year development: “Gunner has improved immensely. I don’t think that it is in one area. I think it’s confidence, mental capacity to handle a lot of information at once, process that information, and yet still make good decisions. Confidence in the pocket and his movement skills in the pocket have improved. His awareness of protections has improved. His ability to handle the pressure of the shot clock, a nine-word call, the defenses throwing at him, and getting people lined up has improved.”
George Davis III, 16, VOXer, states, “I think Gunner Stockton is a really good quarterback. I don’t understand why we can’t ever get the premier quarterbacks coming out of high school, but Gunner is a proven winner, and hopefully he can follow in Stetson Bennett’s footsteps.”
LaCorian Long, recent High School Graduate, said, “ I think Gunner is great; he’s got a good center of gravity, which may make him hard to knock down. He just has to focus on his strengths cause they can easily outweigh his weaknesses.”
Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech has been buzzing in football talks lately after former GT quarterback Haynes King had a breakout preseason performance against the Arizona Cardinals, going 21 of 34 for 180 passing yards and two touchdowns. Seeing that Georgia Tech can turn out promising talent, many eyes have been on them to see what they do with their roster this season.
During Fall Camp, issues with their receiver core have been steadily improving. According to Sports Illustrated, WR Dalen Penson has shown comfort at the position after being moved from cornerback during the spring and is leading the list of top improved players on the offensive side of the roster. Furthermore, with five-time All-Pro NFL great DeAndre Hopkins being added to the receiver staff just last month, the future is bright for wideouts at Georgia Tech.
Per ramblinwreck.com (The home of GT athletics news), the Yellow Jackets are projected to place within the top of the ACC again for a fourth season in a row. Being playoff hopefuls after a fairly successful season last year and seeing them make the CFP rankings for the first time since 2014, eyes are on head coach Brent Key to push that momentum into this year. Furthermore, with a big matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes on Sept. 3rd, the perfect time to make a statement is here.
In a Fall Camp interview with Brent Key via Sports Illustrated, Key had this to say about how he’s preparing for the game against Colorado: “We threw a little bit at them today — a couple of teach periods, just a few things. I’m not a believer in practicing for the opponent two weeks prior. I want to keep it as much of a normalized game week as possible, especially in the first game because of the unknowns. If you go out there and guess that you’re going to see something, and they play something totally different — and you’ve practiced for two weeks on it — it’s just wasted reps.”
