South Carolina Football Commitment Class in 2022 Gunner Stockton (Tiger, Ga./Rabun County) has another prize to place in his trophy case. On Thursday, Stockton was voted BLITZ Footballer of the Year, making it the third straight season in three chances to win the award.
BLITZ Football covers 12 counties in northeastern Georgia and has a 16-member voting team for the Player of the Year award. Stockton received 15 of the 16 best votes with Malaki Starks, a five-star athlete in class 2022 at Jefferson High School who received an offer from Gamecocks, won the other first place in the vote.
Stockton completed 67 percent of his passes for 3,128 yards during his junior season with 45 touchdown passes. He also ran for 1,581 yards with 26 touchdowns to his credit as well.
According to BLITZ Football, Stockton’s 45 touchdowns this season mark his second time in three years, eclipsing the elite 40 mark, while simultaneously setting a new record for him. His 26 quick results are a new personal record.
He also set a personal record in running yards (1,581) and his quarterback score (133.5) was a bit shy of last season’s career record. Throughout his high school career, Stockton now has 9,518 passing yards (the 8th longest in state history) and 122 passing points (3rd), 3,416 running yards and 62 touchdowns on the ground. Add it all up and you have a total of 12,934 yards and 184 total touchdowns.
Stockton, a potential five-star customer on 247Sports Composite with a rating of 0.9867, is considered the 28th customer in the country. He narrowed his list of colleges to South Carolina and Georgia before finally choosing Gamecocks on August 20 this year. Stockton had 22 total offers to his credit.
Here’s what Barton Simmons, Scouting Sports Director, said about Stockton: Stubby outlook in the quarterback that does not appear to have significant growth potential. Good athlete with experience in baseball and active feet in his pocket. He can extend plays when necessary and counted more than 700 running yards as a freshman against limited competition. He is able to make some advanced shots and show the touch and placement of the ball in the field below. Shows creativity and competence delivering on screens and RPO plays on the go. Comfortable making the narrow windows appear to be thrown with speed. It is still in an early stage of development and shows the need to load large balls. It has a tendency to pass the step with the front foot and may loosen mechanically. Very early stages of a potential NFL client, but significant experience and development are still needed.
Stockton is expected to be an early registrant in January 2022.