It’s a new year, a new time for Georgia and Kirby Smart. A new leader playing the QB position represents a sea change. However, not everything is new. Some issues remain old. Georgia’s O-line has emerged as a source of concern heading to the spring practice. Even though the Bulldogs won the SEC Championship and made it to the quarters of the CFP, 2024 was hardly a convincing season by any stretch of the imagination.

The lack of consistency on offense is a major reason. Of course, we can always pick on Carson Beck. However, other pieces didn’t help. The wide receivers and the O-line come to mind. With Beck off to South Beach, all eyes will be on Gunner Stockton. Will the O-line be able to protect him? We saw a glimpse of how a Stockton-led offense would look like against Notre Dame. Yes, the WRs dropped some easy passes, but Stockton wasn’t allowed to breathe easy by the defense. To some extent, that was down to the O-line.

Going forward, who will be the safety net for Stockton? The immediate name that comes out is offensive lineman Monroe Freeling. ”Now, this is a guy who did not play very well against Notre Dame. I think everyone saw that, but the talent is obviously there. He played a little bit as a freshman in 2023, and I think he played in all games, all 13 games last year, making four starts, and again, the Notre Dame game; he got whipped,” insider Brandon Adams said on the February 15 episode of the ‘UGA Football on Dawg Post’ podcast.

”You’ve got to protect the quarterback, and they as a whole did not do a great job of protecting Gunner Stockton in that Sugar Bowl game, but Monroe Freeling is not a bad player,” Adams added. Freeling knows he needs to do better, holding the blocks longer to avoid mishaps like this. But he is not alone. The entire offense needs to step up and work on the collective woes together.

”It’s safe to say they did not play to their standard; now they’ve got to replace several starters, including Tate Ratledge, who was an obvious multi-year starter and a leader. Dylan Fairchild, who’s going to be picked in the NFL draft, Jared Wilson, who was a respectable, dependable center last year, and Xavier Truss, who has been with the program for at least 10 years, it felt like. So, they were losing a lot of guys,” Adams shed light on the tottering offensive depth of the Bulldogs’ 2025 lineup.

The Bulldogs have already been in enough struggle in areas like run blocking, red zone rushing, and pass protection with last year’s elite squad. It’s a bit uncomfortable to think logically about where they’re heading next year without a lot of key players in the O-line. However, as far as Gunner Stockton is concerned, Fox analyst Paul Finebaum straightaway thinks it’s nothing but an overhyped narrative.

Paul Finebaum puts Gunner Stockton’s caliber on notice 

”I don’t know about Georgia,” Finebaum said. “I know everybody was enthralled by Gunner Stockton after the Sugar Bowl, but I was not.” There can’t be any debate over Stockton’s lackluster performance during the Sugar Bowl. But at the same time, he still can rise above the limitations with a minute evaluation and hard work and make the hype real in the next 1-2 years.

The redshirt junior had a remarkable performance in 2024, throwing for 440 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. In his last two games against the Texas Longhorns and in the playoff against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Stockton passed for 305 yards and one touchdown, completing 66.7% of his attempts.

Calling Stockton a blunder by Smart would be naive. Just that his potential is under test but not nullified in any way. The head coach thinks the amount of passion and energy Stockton brings to the team is rare. Everybody in the offense tries to match up to his energy and deliver their best regardless of the situation. It remains to be seen how Smart and Stockton will make it a memorable stint in Athens for the approaching season.