Tim Tebow names college football quarterback who has 'IT' factor

When Tim Tebow hopped on SportsCenter just a few minutes before the start of College GameDay, he singled out one SEC starting quarterback who has showcased impressive swagger early on this season.

That QB is Georgia starter Gunner Stockton. After replacing Carson Beck in the SEC Championship game a year ago and leading a victory there, Stockton stepped into the QB1 role as Beck departed, and perhaps flew under the radar both entering and to start this season. However, after dueling into the 40s against Tennessee and securing every necessary big play late in order to seal that win, Tebow colors himself a huge fan.

"There's a little IT factor," Tebow said of Stockton. "There's a little something to this kid that everybody needs to pay attention to."

Stockton is a Georgia veteran yet is still wet behind ears as the team's actual starting quarterback, which Tebow notes is important to evaluating him.

"Well we got to understand, he's still such a young quarterback," said the older, retired quarterback. "Although he's been here a long time, he only has four starts. But when you really look at him, you see him in crucial situations really improving."

Tebow noted that Stockton's playmaking on his feet helps him nab critical first downs, but also, the Georgia QB is simply an assassin out of the pocket when the stakes rise.

"There is something unique about this kid," Tebow added. "When you look at him on first and second down, his QBR is 71. When you look at him on third or fourth down, it's 99.6."

That's an impressive uptick, certainly better late-down numbers than the Bulldogs put up a year ago, which is partially a credit to Gunner Stockton but also thanks to some game-breaking weapons, such as Tebow's favorite...

"One thing that can help him... get it to Zachariah Branch," Tim Tebow emphasized. "This dude is an absolute freak. This is a young man that's only 178 but can power clean 315 for reps. He's explosive. He can really help out Gunner."

The Georgia offense added a lot more east-west playmaking on the football field this fall with a gadget receiver like Branch, who boasts tremendous speed, plus a QB like Stockton who may not look as statuesque as Carson Beck in the pocket but can wiggle around the backfield a little more with his feet to extend plays.

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