Kirby Smart backs Gunner Stockton after Georgia QB ripped by Steve Smith
Published:
Kirby Smart pushed back on the harsh criticism that former NFL wideout turned podcaster Steve Smith unleashed on Gunner Stockton recently.
Smith was never shy about speaking out during his illustrious football career, and now the 46-year-old gives his hot takes on his podcast, 89 with Steve Smith Sr. Appearing alongside football insider James Palmer, Smith said this last week about the Georgia quarterback despite Stockton leading the Bulldogs to the College Football Playoff last season in his first year as the starter:
I am really perplexed, confused, delusional and just straight up frustrated because let’s just get straight down to it. I don’t know the young man’s name and I don’t want to, because the way I’ve watched him play quarterback, I’m irritated. Goodness gracious, quarterback play from the Georgia Bulldogs, uh, awful. Dog doo-doo. As a wide receiver, I’m going on strike. I’m not working or running a route until I get a better quarterback. And holler at your boy when you get it. I’m out of here.
After Smith fired the first salvo in a big way, it was Smart’s turn to back his quarterback. On Tuesday, Smart made an appearance on Atlanta sports radio station 680 The Fan and did his own unleashing on exactly how he feels about Stockton.
“Do your homework. You know, like, do a little more homework,” Kirby Smart said. “I think if you look at small sections of it, there’s things he can do better. You look at the total body of work he has, it’s been really good, and I think it’s only gonna get better with experience.”
But Smart didn’t stop there.
“You know, I don’t really know Steve Smith personally,” Smart said. “I’ve got nothing to respond to him. I don’t really worry about what he says. I worry about, do we win football games and do we produce.”
Smart hopes Stockton can make Smith eat his words this fall by leading the Bulldogs back to the College Football Playoff. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the odds of that happening in 2026:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
