KIRBY SMART PRAISES GUNNER STOCKTON’S LEADERSHIP BUT HE’S NOT CROWNED GEORGIA’S QB1 YET
ATLANTA (AP) — Kirby Smart hasn’t officially named Gunner Stockton starting quarterback for the upcoming season at Georgia, but it doesn’t matter. Since stepping foot on campus, Stockton has prepared like the job is going to be his.
Smart said Stockton’s commitment to preparation is one of the things he admires most.
“He prepared every game as if he was the starter,” Smart said Tuesday at SEC media days. “People can say that and say that’s coach-speak, but he actually did it. He went in, watched extra tape, and he knew that in any point in time, he could be called up to go into the game and play.”
Stockton finished the 2024 season with 45 completions for 440 yards, a touchdown and an interception in five games: He stepped in for an injured Carson Beck and led the Bulldogs to a 22-19 overtime victory over Texas in the SEC Championship and started in the Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame. He was was 20 of 32 for 234 yards and a TD in the playoff semifinal.
It was enough to give Smart confidence that Beck’s successor was already in the quarterback room.
“He didn’t play in a normal environment where you’ve got a big lead, maybe you’re beating an opponent,” Smart said. “He went in against a top defense in the country in one of the biggest games of the season and performed well for a guy that had not gotten a lot of reps with the (starters). So I thought he handled that moment well and he taught a lot of our young players that you’ve got to be prepared and ready.”
Stockton earned the short trip to Atlanta for this week’s event and was peppered with more questions than teammates CJ Allen and Daylen Everette.
“(Bringing Stockton) was a message about leadership,” said Smart. “He’s separated himself as a great leader of the team and you try to bring people here that can affect others. He’s done that in spring practice.”
The starting job isn’t necessarily a layup for Stockton. Ryan Puglisi is eyeing the role too.
“Ryan is doing awesome too. Ryan and (Stockton) are going to be competing for everything they do. Gunner knows he’s got to go out and play well,” Smart said.
If Stockton stays the course, the offense will be his to lead on Aug. 30, when Georgia hosts Marshall in the season opener. Either way, he’s already picked up on the differences that come with starting.
“It’s just a different role,” Stockton said. “I get more attention in Athens, getting pictures and stuff like that. But that comes with the role, and just being more vocal with the team and just enjoying it. I’ve enjoyed the process so far, and I can’t wait for the season. I’m really excited.”
Georgia football enters a new era in more ways than one. The influx of fifth- and sixth-year players is over as the extra eligibility granted because of the pandemic fades away. Smart said first- and second-year players make up 54% of the team, a big change from the 2024 roster he referred to as one of the most veteran teams he’d coached.
“What do you get with that? You get youthful exuberance,” Smart said. “We’ve had practices that have been spirited.”
In the spring, Smart spoke with the team about passion and energy, traits he seeks in prospective and current players as the money starts flowing to college athletes under the terms of the House settlement.
“No coach is going to stand up here and say they don’t want players to get paid. We want them to get paid,” he said. “I’m completely comfortable with that. What I want is them to get paid and that not change how they go about their business, that not change if they’re sensitive to being demanded excellence of.”
After nine seasons and two national championships, one thing Smart said he won’t do is change his coaching style and philosophy.
“People don’t want to confront and demand anymore for fear of losing a player,” he said. “I would rather go get the right player that buys into that and then I’ve got something special when they do develop.”
HUGH FREEZE, QB JACKSON ARNOLD ARE CONFIDENT AUBURN CAN BE A WINNER IN 2025
ATLANTA (AP) — Hugh Freeze is in unfamiliar territory as he heads into year three as Auburn’s coach.
The former Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty coach only had one losing season in his decade as a Division I head coach, but his first two seasons at Auburn have yielded meager results at 6-7 and 5-7.
Last fall marked the first football season without a head coaching change in the SEC since 2018, but Freeze certainly enters 2025 on the hot seat.
“I’m glad I’m at a place that has those expectations,” Freeze said Tuesday at SEC media days. “I think when you’ve done this awhile, you really don’t give into a lot of the pressure stuff.”
Everything starts at quarterback with the highest profile of Auburn’s 19 incoming transfers. Freeze signed former Oklahoma starter Jackson Arnold, hoping he can finally provide stability. Starting quarterback Payton Thorne and his backup Hank Brown both struggled last season particularly with ball security, as the Tigers threw 13 interceptions as a team and finished 119th nationally in turnover margin.
Arnold himself struggled through a difficult season with the Sooners, losing his starting job for two games and playing the final five games of the regular season with an interim offensive coordinator. But between Freeze’s quarterback-friendly system and a year of SEC experience now under his belt, there is optimism about the fresh start being mutually beneficial.
“Coach Freeze isn’t scared to push the ball down the field, which I absolutely love,” Arnold said. “I thought with my experience running the RPO game, I think it meshed well with what Coach Freeze wants to do with his offense.”
He will have two of Auburn’s top three receivers from last year in terms of both yards and touchdowns back with Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons, along with incoming transfer Eric Singleton Jr. from Georgia Tech. That combined with a returning nucleus on the offensive line led by center Connor Lew has Freeze expecting a sizable jump offensively.
“This is my favorite offensive line when I look at it on paper,” Freeze said. “We’d better be able to run the football and protect the quarterback, because I think we’re pretty talented up there.”
Heading into 2025 Freeze is not only 11-14 overall, but 5-11 in SEC play, 2-6 in one-possession games and perhaps most damaging in the eyes of fans and administrators, 0-4 against rivals Alabama and Georgia.
“Our roster is one that can compete with those teams,” Freeze said, directly addressing the rivalry shortcomings. “We’ve been in the games the first two years, but we haven’t found a way to win.”
Auburn will get both games at home, with Georgia playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Oct. 11 and Alabama coming in for the regular-season finale Nov. 29.
TYLER ATKINSON, NO. 1 LB IN 2026 CLASS, COMMITS TO TEXAS
Tyler Atkinson, the No. 1 linebacker in the 2026 recruiting class, committed to Texas on Tuesday.
Appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show,” the five-star prospect chose the Longhorns over finalists Clemson, Oregon and presumptive favorite Georgia.
Atkinson, who plays at Grayson High School in Loganville, Ga., is ranked No. 9 overall, No. 1 at his position and No. 1 in the Peach State by the 247 Sports composite.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Atkinson, who visited Georgia more than a dozen times during the recruiting process, made an official visit to Austin from June 20-22.
“I feel like I just encompass everything I want at Texas … the way they have me playing is the best fit, and that’s why I chose Texas,” he said.
Atkinson recorded 174 tackles and 13 sacks while guiding Grayson to a 14-1 record and a Class 6A state title in 2024, per ESPN.
He is the third five-star pledge for Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian, joining Florida quarterback Dia Bell and Texas athlete Jermaine Bishop. The class ranks No. 8 in the nation, per 247 Sports.
PAC-12, MOUNTAIN WEST HEADED BACK TO COURT AFTER MEDIATION FAILS OVER MILLIONS IN ‘POACHING’ FEES
The Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences are headed back to court after failing to reach a settlement agreement in mediation over $55 million in “poaching” fees.
The conferences failed to reach an agreement by Tuesday’s deadline in mediation that began in May. The Pac-12 has requested a hearing on the pending motion to dismiss on Sept. 9.
“The Pac-12 remains committed to moving forward with legal action in response to the Mountain West’s attempt to impose so-called ‘poaching penalties,’ provisions we believe are unlawful and intended to obstruct our ability to act in the best interests of our student-athletes and member institutions,” the Pac-12 said in a statement.
The Pac-12 and some of the schools it is adding filed lawsuits last year, claiming the poaching clause it agreed to when it signed a scheduling agreement for its football teams for last season was invalid.
The clause called for payments to the Mountain West of $10 million for the first team that left, with the amount growing by $500,000 for every additional team. That was on top of the $17 million-plus exit fees schools were responsible for as part of a different agreement.
“The Mountain West provided the Pac-12 institutions with a lifeline, offering a full football schedule for the 2024 season,” the Mountain West said in a statement. “The Pac-12 willingly signed the scheduling agreement with full knowledge of the contractual provisions and is attempting to avoid its legal obligations. The Mountain West will aggressively protect the interests of our member institutions and is fully prepared to hold the Pac-12 accountable.”
Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Boise State are all set to join the Pac-12 starting in 2026. The conference added Texas State last month to reach the eight-team minimum to be eligible for an automatic bid for its conference champion in the College Football Playoff.
Oregon State and Washington State are the only remaining members following an exodus last year that threatened the conference’s future. The two schools reached a scheduling agreement with the two schools so they could piece together a football schedule last season.
The Mountain West has added UTEP, Hawaii and Northern Illinois for football starting in 2026.
THE WAIT IS OVER FOR TEXAS AND ARCH MANNING, THOUGH QUARTERBACK ADMITS IT WASN’T EASY BEING BACKUP
ATLANTA (AP) — Arch Manning amassed the largest crowd at SEC Media Days on Tuesday, and it wasn’t particularly close. Neither was the competition for most devoted fan, that title belonged to 13-year-old Connor Petroziello.
The Manning superfan arrived at the College Football Hall of Fame at 6:45 a.m., sporting a white Longhorns hat, a No. 16 jersey and burnt orange Crocs. He didn’t know Manning’s brief walk-by wouldn’t happen until 4:15 p.m., but when he found out, he didn’t halt the mission. Ten hours later, his idol signed his jersey.
“I got an ESPN notification last week and asked my parents if we could come,” Petroziello said. “He’s my favorite player. Everything about him.”
The Manning fandom spans beyond age 13. The son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning is the most-talked about quarterback — if not player — in college football. And yet, he’s only played in a handful of games.
Manning passed for 939 yards and nine touchdowns and ran for four touchdowns last season, seeing limited playing time after September behind Quinn Ewers.
He admits now that going from highly sought-after high school recruit to the Texas backup quarterback wasn’t an easy transition.
“This is not really a big deal, but I played every year in high school,” Manning said Tuesday at SEC Media Days. “It was a 2-A high school. That doesn’t mean anything, but from sitting out and not playing, that was pretty tough.”
Manning could have seen the field earlier had he gone elsewhere. But in an era where college athletes have newfound maneuverability thanks to the transfer portal — and the ability strike lucrative deals at interested schools — the quarterback chose to ride it out.
“(Transferring) never really crossed my mind,” Manning said. “I knew Texas was the place I wanted to be. It was the city I wanted to be in, a great education. I had friends there. I was still developing and growing as a football player and a person. So I never really wanted to leave. If there was somewhere else I wanted to be, I would have gone.”
Two years since first arriving in Austin, his days of watching offensive possessions from the sideline is likely behind him. Ewers moved on and up, drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round in April, passing the torch to the newest playmaker in one of football’s most famous families.
Manning’s confidence masks the simple fact that he’s appeared in just 12 college games going into the Aug. 30 season opener at Ohio State, the defending national champion and the team that beat the Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl last January. Now that the wait is over, coach Steve Sarkisian thinks he is ready.
“He’s got an unbelievable work ethic. And I think, if he stays true to himself, that’s going to help him navigate these waters as they present themselves,” Sarkisian said. “I think he’s prepared for the moment, but now it’s just time for him to go do it and enjoy doing it quite frankly.”
Anthony Hill Jr. would know Manning’s skill level best. The 2024 second-team AP All-American is tasked with facing the quarterback every day in practice.
“The way he reads the defense, he reads it really well. He also has the ability to take off and run and change the play calls. He’s done that a lot of times against us. I feel he’s going to have a really good season … the season that he rightfully deserves,” Hill said.
Despite the praise and chatter, Manning rejects the idea that he’s anything other than a normal guy.
“I feel like I’m a pretty normal guy,” he said. “I like to hang out with my buddies, play golf. I take football pretty seriously. Other than that, just a regular guy.”
But don’t get it twisted. Normal guy or not, there’s only one thing on the quarterback’s mind.
“I’m here to play ball.”
