As the Georgia Bulldogs gear up for their clash with the Florida Gators on Saturday, November 1, they’re not just facing a fierce rivalry. The stakes are high with potential College Football Playoff considerations and a chance at the SEC championship game. For Bulldogs’ quarterback, Gunner Stockton, the game carries even more significance.

This pivotal match is set to unfold at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida—a place of personal history for Stockton. It was here, in 2010, that his grandfather tragically passed away.

“He suffered a heart attack right there at the stadium,” Stockton, 21, shared with ESPN in an interview published on Thursday, October 30. “Every time we head to Florida, I have an extra drive to win in Jacksonville.”

Stockton’s grandfather, Lawrence Stockton, was an alumnus of the UGA School of Pharmacy. He was attending the game when he passed away, a heartbreaking 34-31 defeat to the Gators. After the game, while conversing with a friend in the parking lot, he collapsed at the age of 63.

Meanwhile, in a different corner of the football world, 58-year-old Tom Cillo is proving that age is merely a number. Cillo, a freshman defensive lineman for the Division III Lycoming College football team in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is taking the field with determination. “I decided to take a chance and create my own narrative,” Cillo remarked, showcasing his passion and resilience.

“He said something about [former Bulldogs defensive coordinator] Todd Grantham and collapsed,” said Lawrence’s widow, Suzanne Frederickson.

Gunner was just 6 years old when Lawrence died, but he still holds onto memories of his grandfather.

“He lived on the lake, and he always treated us so good and spoiled the grandkids,” he said. “He was just a great granddad.”

For Gunner, Georgia football is in his blood, coming from a long line of Bulldogs fans on his dad’s side. He grew up 75 miles from the Athens, Georgia, campus as a massive Bulldogs fan himself and the son of two former college athletes.

As the LSU Tigers football program navigates an already tumultuous search for a new head coach, former players and staffers are coming out of the woodwork to shed light on the Brian Kelly era. LSU fired Kelly, 64, on October 26, the day after a home loss to Texas A&M, which dropped the Tigers to […]

Still, Gunner initially committed to the University of South Carolina in high school, where the son of one of his high school coaches was the offensive coordinator. Once that coach, Mike Bobo, left the Gamecocks for Auburn University, Gunner flipped to Georgia.

“The No. 1 thing for Gunner is he’s known our community, and especially our family, his friends and those people closest to him, believe in him,” his father, Rob, told UGASports in 2024. “We’ve always loved him and want the best for him. This is something that he’s worked for [and] something he’s dreamed of.”

He added, “You look at pictures of your kid, and they’re throwing the ball in your backyard and dreaming of being the starting quarterback at the University of Georgia. It has happened. It is unreal.”

Now in his fourth season at Georgia, Gunner redshirted during the Bulldogs’ 2022 National Championship season. Three years later, he’s the starting quarterback, and going into Saturday, has thrown for 10 touchdowns compared to only one interception. He now has a chance for another ring and even an outside shot at the Heisman Trophy.

With five games remaining in the regular season, head coach Kirby Smart is looking for his quarterback to “continue to grow.”

“We give Gunner a lot of latitude and options, in terms of the playcall,” he said. “It’s more about putting us in the right play to be successful based on what they’re in defensively. I don’t think he gets enough credit for that decision-making process.”

Georgia and Florida will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC.