"I'm not confident " - Paul Finebaum flames Gunner Stockton, refuses to hail Georgia QB as Carson Beck's successor

Georgia enters the 2025 season as a top 10 team, but questions remain around its offensive line, a young defensive front and a revamped receiver corps tasked with reducing last year’s drop rate.

Starting quarterback Gunner Stockton has a little room for error. The former top 10 recruit is unproven and will face Alabama and Texas in 2025. Georgia has added receivers Noah Thomas and Zachariah Branch and running back Joshua McCray to ease the pressure. RB Nate Frazier is also returning. But national analysts remain skeptical of Stockton.

On Sunday, Paul Finebaum criticized Stockton on his show, saying:

"I'm not confident in Gunner Stockton. I sat with Kirby a couple of weeks ago, and he acted like he was, but I'd like to give him a lie detector test. Carson Beck had his faults, but I'd much rather have him than Gunner Stockton."

Gunner Stockton (14) during the Georgia G-Day - Source: Imagn

Finebaum also panned Stockton’s Sugar Bowl stats: 234 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, in a loss to Notre Dame. His stance hasn’t changed since May, when Kirby Smart reportedly tuned in.

Paul Finebaum called Kirby Smart the successor to Nick Saban

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart and former coach Nick Saban - Source: Imagn

Paul Finebaum, long viewed with skepticism by Georgia fans, called Kirby Smart the successor to Nick Saban. Speaking last week, Finebaum said Smart, now in his late 40s, resembles Nick Saban.

“Nick Saban in the absolute prime of his career” and that Georgia is “what Alabama was five or six years ago,” he said, according to Dawn of the Dawg.

He added that Georgia, under Smart’s leadership, is on their way to matching Alabama’s dominance - a run that included six national and nine SEC championships.

Coach Smart has led the Bulldogs to two national titles and three SEC crowns in nine seasons.