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Gunner Stockton, Herschel Walker greet President Donald Trump ahead of scheduled speech in Georgia

Byington mugby: Alex Byington02/19/26_AlexByington

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton was among a contingent of state representatives on hand to greet President Donald Trump after Air Force One touched down at the Richard B. Russell Regional Airport in Floyd County ahead of Thursday night’s political rally in Rome.

Stockton, who is entering his second season as the Bulldogs’ starting QB, was joined by UGA legend and 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker, a former senate candidate and current U.S Ambassador to the Bahamas, and ex-Georgia senator and head of the Small Business Administration Kelly Loeffler.

Check out the scene below:

Trump is making his first visit back to the state of Georgia since his 2025 re-election to promote his administration’s economic agenda. The rally is in the heart of Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, which is in the midst of early voting for a special election to replace former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who stepped down at the beginning of the year following a falling out with the president.

As part of the visit, Trump was scheduled to visit The Varsity restaurant in Rome, participate in a podcast interview and tour a local factory before giving remarks about the economy and affordability. The rally is being held Thursday afternoon from the Coosa Steel Corporation in Rome.

Of course, Thursday wasn’t the president’s first brush with a notable college football figure this week.

Nick Saban, Urban Meyer play round of golf with President Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis on Sunday

This past Sunday, Trump played 18 holes with legendary college football coaches Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, as well as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, at his West Palm Beach Golf Club in South Florida, according to White House pool reporter Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal‘s Alex Leary.

Meyer reflected on the opportunity during this week’s episode of The Triple Option podcast.

“What brought this on is just conversation about the positives and negatives of not just college football, college sports,” Meyer said. “The Governor of the State, our Governor, I live in the State of Florida, played baseball at Yale. The President of the United States has been very interested in sports and just listened.

“And, obviously, Coach Saban, already being the greatest coach of all time, has a hell of a golf swing, Mark (Ingram II), you know that. He doesn’t swing it like he used to, but he’s got a hell of a swing, and obviously a great person, so we had a great day.”

Trump has long been a fan of Saban following Alabama’s multiple White House visits to celebrate national championships during his first term. Trump even named the seven-time national champion head coach as a co-chair of a never-realized presidential commission on college sports last June.

— On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.