Photo courtesy of George Bobo. A young Gunner Stockton trains with George Bobo at the Rabun County High School indoor football facility. Bobo began working with Stockton when the quarterback was 6. Stockton, now a fifth-year senior at the University of Georgia, is preparing for his final season of college football.
George Bobo has trained plenty of successful quarterbacks during his lifetime.
Those names include current James Madison head football coach Billy Napier and Tulane offensive coordinator Russ Callaway, just to name a few.
But with Gunner Stockton, Bobo knew the Rabun Countian was special after watching him throw one pass in the Rabun County High School gym at the age of 6. That moment came while Bobo was training former RCHS quarterback and current wide receivers coach Wes Holcombe.
“We were working on setting your hip, throwing to the left, and all of a sudden here comes a bullet out through there,” Bobo said. “And I go ‘Wow’ and Wes (Holcombe) goes ‘Wow, that’s a 6-year-old.”
Stockton’s father Rob asked Bobo – a successful high school head football coach and former assistant under Sonny Smart at RCHS – if he would train Gunner at that young age.
Bobo worked with quarterbacks at a variety of ages on fundamentals like their footwork and throwing motion and he worked with Stockton through his early development.
Those training sessions continued until Stockton was in eighth grade, but the pay off was almost instant.
Stockton’s little league team in the North Georgia Youth Football Association (NGYFA) posted an astounding 65-0 record. While others moved at “Tecmo Bowl” speed, as Bobo described it, there would always be flashes of Stockton.
“There used to be a football game, kind of electric, and you’d turn it on and it would vibrate and the players would move and that’s what they all looked like. Never moving real fast,” Bobo said. “And then all of a sudden, you’d see a pass come out and go, ‘Wow, that’s an 8-year-old right there.”
As Stockton aged, he obviously grew physically, but also as a football player. At the middle school level, he started at quarterback and free safety, throwing 35-40 yard passes on one end, and making tackles at the line of scrimmage on running backs much larger than him on the other.
When he reached the high school ranks, he was a four-year starting quarterback for RCHS, and eventually a four-star recruit. The Wildcats posted a 46-7 record and won four consecutive region titles in that time while Stockton set multiple Georgia high school records.
His ability translated to the collegiate level in his first season as the starter at the University of Georgia, where despite waiting his turn for three seasons, he always prepared like a starting QB. That preparation led to his success and fearless demeanor.
“Fear is not a real thing with him because of preparedness,” Bobo said. “You can be anxious but he has confidence in himself, but he always has prepared for everything.”
That fearlessness is on display at times through some of the hits that Stockton has taken – like in the Sugar Bowl versus Ole Miss, SEC Championship versus Texas and diving touchdown versus Auburn – and willingness to sacrifice for each yard.
While Bobo admitted he would like to see the signal caller slide more, he also knows that his fearlessness and courage is what has earned his teammates’ respect.
“If you want to earn the respect of your teammates, play without fear,” Bobo said of Stockton’s play. “Play without fear and be a competitor, and then be an encourager. And that’s what he does. That comes from inside of him. That comes from his raising from mom and dad. He has that special desire to lead.”
That desire to lead comes from Stockton, now 22 years old, rather than the 6-year-old boy that began training with Bobo several years ago. At times, Bobo sees that 6-year-old when watching Stockton play. But more than that, he sees the man he watched grow up.
“Talking about Gunner and what he’s done and watching him grow, that’s been special for me,” Bobo said. “I’ve seen a lot of kids grow. Gunner is one of those that I’ve enjoyed watching to see him grow into a man.”