Gunner Stockton is not on the shortlist for Heisman Trophy favorites in 2026. Maybe he should be.
On Thursday, ESPN gathered its top college football writers to name the top national award candidate from each school in the network’s early top 25. Mark Schlabach picked Stockton as the Georgia player with the best shot at hardware, and he picked the most coveted individual award in the sport as the target.
Here’s what Schlabach wrote:
Stockton finished seventh in Heisman voting in 2025 after leading the Bulldogs to a 12-2 record and second straight SEC title in his first season as a starter. He completed 69.7% of his pass attempts for 2,894 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s a physical and effective runner, gaining 462 yards with 10 scores. Stockton isn’t the flashiest quarterback, but he’s productive and rarely makes mistakes. If he can take the next step as a passer by taking advantage of throws down the middle of the field, he could be even better in 2026.
Stockton’s seventh-place finish last season was fueled by 3 first-place votes and 6 second-place votes. He finished one spot ahead of Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss — who is also mentioned in the piece above as a Heisman contender — just a few weeks before being outdueled by Chambliss in the Sugar Bowl.
The Georgia quarterback threw for 203 yards, ran for 20 more, and scored 3 total touchdowns in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal loss to the Rebels.
Chambliss threw for 362 yards and 2 scores.
Stetson Bennett finished fourth in Heisman voting in 2022, when Georgia crushed TCU in the national championship to cap a perfect season. It was a distant fourth, however.
No Georgia player has finished in the top 3 of Heisman voting since Garrison Hearst in 1992. A Georgia quarterback has never finished in the top 3.
At Kalshi, Stockton has a 5% chance to win the award in 2026.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
