Georgia suffered an extreme defeat on the final play of the first half of the SEC Championship Game when star quarterback Carson Beck went down injured after taking a shot.

There have been a lot of questions about how the College Football Playoff outlook could suddenly change for the Bulldogs, especially considering what happened to Florida State when Jordan Travis was sidelined with an injury.

To make matters even more worrisome, Stockton had come into the game with very limited experience and had no experience at all in an SEC game up to that point.

The Tigers, Georgia native entered the game with just six relief appearances between 2023 and 2024. Georgia’s 6-3 deficit in the SEC Championship was his first truly meaningful action.

While such an incident left many gasping for breath, that was far from what the players and coaches on the Georgia sidelines were doing.

They had complete confidence in the sophomore.

“Everyone was just excited,” Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith said after the game. “Not thrilled because they wanted him to play or want him to be in the starting line-up. But just that he had that moment and the chance to go out and play quarterback for us.”

Running back Trevor Etienne echoed that sentiment, saying that while everyone else may have been surprised at how well Stockton did, it didn’t necessarily shock anyone in the program.

“The way he prepares, I didn’t expect anything less from him,” Etienne said. “He comes in and works hard every day. He’s probably experienced this moment a thousand times in training. Tonight he could show it to the world.”

Head coach Kirby Smart described his performance as “tough” and said the quarterback seemed ready for the moment. In fact, he was as he led Georgia down the field on the first drive he took the field, capped off with a 10-yard touchdown from Etienne.

He then completed 12 of his 16 pass attempts for 71 yards with a stat line that wasn’t necessarily particularly impressive, but with an electrifying on-field performance that added momentum to Georgia’s previously lifeless offense.

Stockton’s only real mistake came at the worst possible time, with just over two minutes left after an interception.

However, Smart said it wasn’t all his fault.

“The one mistake he made, and I feel like it was partly our fault… We got the call early, he didn’t get the call,” Smart said.

“He didn’t have time to evaluate what they were doing. When he sees this, he can pick it up and do some things with it. But we were at the end of the shot clock…he throws the pick there, which could have been costly.”

“It’s just the love I have for everyone in the locker room. All the seniors and just wanting them to go out the right way,” Stockton said. “It’s pretty awesome (being a Georgia native to do that).

In a way it’s almost reminiscent of Stetson Bennett. Two players from small-town Georgia who weren’t exactly the same, but had some similarities in the situation.

Stockton was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, while Bennett was rated significantly lower as a backup with just one FBS offer. But both players overcame incredible odds in situations that seemed impossible when called upon, and were much more in the spotlight behind the quarterbacks than they were.

And depending on the type and extent of Beck’s upper-body extremity injury, Stockton may have to continue to face the challenge as Georgia moves into the thick of the College Football Playoff.

And he is no longer a stranger to the big stage.

This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Stetson Bennett-esque: Gunner Stockton makes statement in Carson Beck’s absence