Loran - Smith

Loran

Football, as we are often reminded, is a physical game. The old timers from Walter Camp to Fielding Yost to Knute Rockne preached about it and so did Fank Leahy, Bud Wilknson, and Bear Bryant. Woody Hayes, Vince Dooley, and others. If you pay attention to Kirby Smart’s press conferences, you will often hear him offer preachments to the important of “physicality” as he prepares his team for a signature game.

The view here is that the Bulldogs measured up to the physicality creed against Texas in winning the 2024 Southeastern Conference championship, Smart’s third. These Serendipity Dawgs appear to be peaking at the right time, with a sense of urgency carrying them late in the season, driven by a championship modus operandi.

We don’t know the final script for this team, but one thing is blatantly obvious—they are as good as any football team in the country even though they must now move forward with a backup quarterback. However, there is widespread respect and confidence in “Gunner, the Stunner.” Nowhere greater than in the Bulldog locker room.

There are plentiful admirers across the football landscape. “I love his calmness, his confidence,” said Fran Tarkenton who is the most studied observer of quarterback play in this country. Even as he gets long in the tooth, the Georgia grad and NFL Hall of Famer, watches football all weekend in the fall—the colleges on Saturday, the pros on Sunday and Monday. “He’s got the chip,” No. 10 proudly said on the phone the day after the hosanna’s were still being sung from the rafters of this Red & Black state. For Tarkenton, who never met a quarterback discussion he didn’t like, the continued from page

quarterback “with the chip,” is the one who first is a fearless competitor. He may not be the most physical, with running back skills, but he must have competitive toughness. “When he got blindsided near the Texas goal line, he didn’t flinch, and he hung onto the football didn’t he?”

A quarterback must know when to improvise. (“You can tell, he has a sense of what to do when he has to make a decision. He doesn’t push the panic button. He executes with positive confidence. I like his presence on the football field.”) Tarkenton isn’t the only one who is a Stockton aficionado. The announcers covering the championship game gave him high marks which he has been getting all his life.

He is never demonstrative, never given to the slightest of histrionics, just an advocate of the blue-collar work ethic with a savvy football intellect— quiet, soft spoken, disciplined, eager to learn and blessed with a natural feel for the game.

His family has been unalterably connected to the Bobo family through the years. Gunner has often spent time with George Bobo who has forever run an unofficial passing academy. The senior Bobo became a passing guru who has tutored many quarterbacks.

When Mike Bobo left Colorado State, he spent a year as offensive coordinator at South Carolina during which time Stockton committed to play for the Gamecocks which changed as Bobo returned to Athens to work for Kirby Smart.

With George Bobo, there has always been a fun and games atmosphere with his teaching approach. They gather periodically and throw in the morning, then fish or play golf in the afternoon. Connected into this fraternity is Michael Davis, father of Georgia softball star Lindi Rea Davis and offensive coordinator at Rabun County High and the son-in-law of Ray Lamb, former Georgia staff member.

Coach Davis is as high on Gunner as anybody, including Fran Tarkenton. Like those who throw halos in Gunner’s direction, it is not just his ability to play the most important position on the team, it is his modest demeanor and his personal qualities that set him apart.

It was obvious at the Benz that it would have been to break out those old tee shirts which were designed by Erk Russell 44 years ago: BIG TEAM, little me.

That was graphically defined as the team rallied to put together an inspirational second half of football in which the team found a way to win by defeating Texas a second time this year.

One of the most telling vignettes, which reflected Georgia’s game plan expertise and the head coach’s extraordinary field marshal management style, came when Aussie punter, Brett Thorson, was injured and the first punting situation subsequently ensued.

Reserve punter Charlie Ham of Atlanta took the field but the snap went to Drew Bobo, whose hometown is listed as Auburn, Ala., and he performed just like his heritage called for.

From his upback single protector position, he took the snap flawlessly and threw a short toss to Arian Smith who ran for nine yards and a first down. This led to a field goal that put Georgia in front 16-13.

Texas would tie the game and get into overtime, but the momentum shifted to Georgia. You probably could identify a dozen key plays as critical late in the game, but one of note was the open field tackle on third down in overtime when freshman K. J. Bolden tackled the Longhorns Quintrevion Wisner in the open field for a one-yard loss to force a field goal.

Georgia needed a touchdown. They got it and brought patriotic swoon to the Bulldog nation, including all 422 residents of Tiger, Georgia, Gunner the Stunner’s hometown— where he raises beef cattle when he is not crippling longhorns.