Auburn head coach Alex Golesh understands the challenge Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton will be for his Tigers in Week 7.
During his first media availability ahead of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry game on Saturday afternoon, Golesh gave an honest assessment of facing Stockton.
From the sound of it, Golesh is already stressing about Stockton's ability to make plays on schedule or out of broken plays.
“As we prep for Georgia, number one team in the country, and you watch it, all three phases, certainly look that way,” Golesh said. “Offensively, man, the quarterback is a really, really good player, makes a lot of things go, doesn’t make a ton of mistakes.
“You could tell (he’s) a veteran guy that’s played in the system that gets the ball to the right places, can move it with his feet, can escape in a lot of ways.”
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart's take focused on Byrum Brown and Auburn's ability to air the ball out and be physical at the point of attack.
"People want to make it about passing, and they do have a lot of good passes, and they have tempo. They get a lot of plays, but they’re physical. They’re physical at the point of attack. When you watch the games I watched yesterday on them, you immediately see those same pillars of his program, being able to throw the ball vertical down the field and being physical at the point of attack. They’ve got a guy that can do that at quarterback," Smart said.
Smart's speech sounded like coach-speak. Golesh was more honest about what he'll be facing this weekend in Athens.
Gunner Stockton is a matchup nightmare for Auburn's defense
Golesh is almost certainly aware that the Tigers' defensive strength doesn't match up well against the mobile and thoughtful Stockton. That's especially true with star linebacker Xavier Atkins suspended and absent from this Saturday's matchup.
DJ Durkin's defense generates 19.8 pressures per game, with rushers frequently shooting the A- and B-gaps to penetrate opposing interior offensive lines.
Well, bad news. UGA's offensive line is strongest in the interior. Center Drew Bobo is one of the best centers in the country, let alone the SEC.
Even if Auburn was able to consistently break through, Stockton has a 2.41-second average time to throw. The ball is probably already out of his hands. The Dawgs are elite at screens behind the line of scrimmage.
Stockton has the wheels to evade the pass rush, wherever it's coming from. Even if he's going through his second and third reads, he has the tools to abandon the passing game altogether and pull in extra yardage.
It's not Golesh's responsibility to stop Stockton. That's Durkin's. Golesh's purview is the offensive side of the ball.
Still, given the controversial Atkins decision, a defensive dud would fall within his responsibility as well.
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