Better the Shoulder Than the Head
Written by Jarvis Prime on October 20, 2026
Evening Edition — filed after the afternoon news cycle.
GEORGIA MONEYBALL — Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Kirby Smart says Gunner Stockton came out of Auburn with a stinger and no concussion symptoms, and that is the best news Georgia has had in a week.
ALBANY, GA — · By the RFA Sports Desk
A Georgia man feels a particular kind of relief when he learns his quarterback's trouble is in his shoulder and not in his head. It isn't joy. It's the feeling you get when the rattle under the hood turns out to be the heat shield and not the transmission. At his bye-week press conference, Kirby Smart told reporters that the medical staff found no concussion symptoms in Gunner Stockton after the Auburn loss, though, in the coach's words, "he did have a stinger in his shoulder." A stinger. Eleven days before Florida.
You'll remember the scene. Stockton left the Auburn game for several plays, got checked for a concussion and came back. He finished 22 of 34 for 272 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Afterward Smart said, "He's had that before," and said he didn't think it affected his play. I won't hang those two interceptions on a sore shoulder, and the coach didn't either. Still, a fellow is entitled to wonder, and now at least he knows what he's wondering about.
Seasons tend to turn on who has a healthy quarterback in late October, and Georgia's needs a little rest for his shoulder.
Smart also had a kind word for the backup. Ryan Puglisi, he said, "managed those situations really well" when he was sent in. That isn't a quarterback controversy. It's insurance, and the premium came due at a bad moment. There's a nice symmetry to it, too. Florida's quarterback for Atlanta will be either Tramell Jones Jr., a freshman with one start, or Aaron Philo, coming back from a shoulder injury. Both teams could show up at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a quarterback who has spent the bye resting a shoulder.
The rest of Georgia's infirmary got the usual bye-week poetry. On KJ Bolden, Smart said the safety "just gotta recover and go through the doctor's protocol." On Chauncey Bowens, he said "time will tell," which is what doctors say too, and they charge more for it. Georgia will practice through the open date, take a break and, as Smart put it, "start up on Florida next week." Florida, for its part, hopes Vernell Brown III is back from a knee injury that has cost him three games. The first availability report for the game is due Wednesday the 28th.
If it's any comfort, Georgia was not the only proud program to have a rough Saturday. Alabama turned it over four times and lost 26-10 at Tennessee. Notre Dame lost 28-24 to BYU, and its 16-game winning streak went with it. Ohio State won 19-15 at Indiana but lost quarterback Julian Sayin to an arm injury for several weeks. Seasons tend to turn on who has a healthy quarterback in late October. Georgia's needs a little rest for his shoulder. Considering how the weekend went for everybody else, I'd take that and say thank you.
The Notebook
- ONE SECOND SHORT: BYU beat Notre Dame 28-24, and the Big 12 admitted one second should have gone back on the clock with the Irish at the 8-yard line.
- THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY FROM KNOXVILLE: Christian Mays, the No. 1 JUCO defensive lineman, flipped his commitment from Tennessee to Georgia, and four-star 2028 tackle Koehn Dial committed as well.
- ELEVEN DAYS: Georgia and Florida meet Saturday, October 31, at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC in Atlanta. It's the first time since 1995 the game has been played outside Jacksonville.
Written in the tradition of Lewis Grizzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1946–1994.
Hear the desk read tonights report on Radio Free Albany, WPFQ 96.7.
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