Why Georgia QB Gunner Stockton Has Extra Motivation to Beat Florida

Between a bitter rivalry, College Football Playoff implications and a possible spot in the SEC championship game, the Georgia Bulldogs have plenty to play for when they face the Florida Gators on Saturday, November 1. There’s even more on the line for Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton.

The game will take place at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, the same stadium where his grandfather died in 2010.

“He had a heart attack there at the stadium,” Stockton, 21, told ESPN in a story published Thursday, October 30. “Every time we go to Florida, I really want to beat them bad in Jacksonville.”

Gunner’s grandfather Lawrence Stockton was a graduate of the UGA School of Pharmacy. He attended the game the day he died, a 34-31 loss to the Gators, and was talking to his friend in the parking lot after the game when he collapsed. He was 63.

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“He said something about [former Bulldogs defensive coordinator] Todd Grantham and collapsed,” said Lawrence’s widow, Suzanne Frederickson.

Gunner was just 6 years old when Lawrence died, but he still holds onto memories of his grandfather.

“He lived on the lake, and he always treated us so good and spoiled the grandkids,” he said. “He was just a great granddad.”

For Gunner, Georgia football is in his blood, coming from a long line of Bulldogs fans on his dad’s side. He grew up 75 miles from the Athens, Georgia, campus as a massive Bulldogs fan himself and the son of two former college athletes.

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Still, Gunner initially committed to the University of South Carolina in high school, where the son of one of his high school coaches was the offensive coordinator. Once that coach, Mike Bobo, left the Gamecocks for Auburn University, Gunner flipped to Georgia.

“The No. 1 thing for Gunner is he’s known our community, and especially our family, his friends and those people closest to him, believe in him,” his father, Rob, told UGASports in 2024. “We’ve always loved him and want the best for him. This is something that he’s worked for [and] something he’s dreamed of.”

He added, “You look at pictures of your kid, and they’re throwing the ball in your backyard and dreaming of being the starting quarterback at the University of Georgia. It has happened. It is unreal.”

Now in his fourth season at Georgia, Gunner redshirted during the Bulldogs’ 2022 National Championship season. Three years later, he’s the starting quarterback, and going into Saturday, has thrown for 10 touchdowns compared to only one interception. He now has a chance for another ring and even an outside shot at the Heisman Trophy.

With five games remaining in the regular season, head coach Kirby Smart is looking for his quarterback to “continue to grow.”

“We give Gunner a lot of latitude and options, in terms of the playcall,” he said. “It’s more about putting us in the right play to be successful based on what they’re in defensively. I don’t think he gets enough credit for that decision-making process.”

Georgia and Florida will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC.