TIGER – It's not often a small school in North Georgia gets a visit from an SEC school by helicopter.
The roar coming from the Rabun County High School's football field Thursday morning was a bright yellow helicopter carrying Georgia football coach Kirby Smart and assistant coach Todd Hartley.
The Georgia coaches took the chopper ride from Athens to visit with Rabun County coach Jatbo Shaw about his star freshman quarterback, Gunner Stockton. Stockton currently holds offers from Georgia Tech and Colorado State. He is expected to make an official visit to Athens this weekend.
“It was an awesome morning here for Rabun County football and the Rabun County community,” Shaw said. “Having coach Kirby Smart and tight end coach Todd Hartley with Georgia football visiting us.”
As a freshman, the 6-foot-1, 202-pound quarterback led his team to the quarterfinals of the Class AA state playoffs. He completed over 65 percent of his passes, threw for 2,917 yards, 34 touchdowns and rushed for 709 yards and reached pay dirt 17 times.
"Being able to talk about Rabun Football and Gunner Stockton was a lot of fun,” Shaw said of his visit with the UGA coaches. “Gunner is a very special kid with a special talent. He has earned a lot of attention here in the last week or two, earning scholarship offers from Georgia Tech and Colorado State. Gunner and his family will be visiting Athens this Saturday. We are so excited for Gunner and his family. This is no doubt a very special time to be a part of Rabun County football."
