Matthew Stafford

ATHENS, Ga. — A lot of highly-rated recruits arrived at their college campuses three years ago with unrealistic expectations. It’s college football in the South. But only one was adorned a future No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft by Mel Kiper Jr., obliterating any remaining reason.

And that’s where we are with Georgia junior Matthew Stafford, trying to discern what he’s accomplished compared to how much we expected. If Kiper’s projection is correct, and initial mock drafts suggest he’ll be close, Stafford might be attempting to win the SEC East for the final time when Georgia meets Florida on Saturday. A gifted quarterback like Stafford could easily leave early.

Quarterbacks are the only players measured by a won-loss record, and Stafford is 25-5 as a starter (Florida’s Tim Tebow is 15-5). Some say Stafford is overrated. Well, of course he’s overrated. As an 18-year-old, he was projected by the most famous NFL Draft expert to become the most valued player in the entire nation. Try to become underrated after that.

Take a more rational look at Stafford’s accomplishments at Georgia, and you can easily refute the three claims his critics often make when calling Stafford overrated:

n He only recently threw for 300 yards in a game

The 300-yard game. Everyone’s favorite arbitrary number. Never mind that Stafford threw for 275, 285 and 274 yards this year before finally becoming a great quarterback and throwing for 310 against Tennessee. (He only threw for 175 yards against Hawai’i last season — I guess the Warriors’ defense really stifled him.)

n He’s never won a title

Well, this seems a bit harsh. He’s started for one full season. I think Georgia fans can watch Tennessee, Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State and LSU this year and appreciate what Stafford did as a first-year quarterback, when he started eight games. Last season, sure, the Bulldogs did not play for a title. And get this: They only finished third in the nation.

n He’s inaccurate

Not anymore. Stafford threw 13 interceptions and completed 52.7 passes as a freshman. That’s not just inaccurate, that’s throwing the ball with no real idea where it’s going. He threw 10 interceptions and completed 55.7 passes last season. That’s a little better. He’s thrown five interceptions and completed 61.6 percent of his passes this season. To compare, Peyton Manning threw 12 interceptions his junior year and 11 his senior season.

We’ll know a lot more about Stafford’s legacy after Saturday. I will agree that you can’t call a quarterback the best ever at a school if he never wins any titles. Tebow failed in his first attempt as a starter last season and will battle Stafford for the honor Saturday.

“I think any time you play a guy that plays your same position and is a highly-touted player that people have a lot of respect for, you want to play well,” Stafford said. “That’s human nature.

“I look at myself a little bit, but everybody plays in such a different offense, you just don’t know. Graham Harrell at Texas Tech, he’s throwing for 500 yards per game and throwing it 50-60 times. And then there’s Tebow doing things like running the football that they don’t ask me to do. It’s tough. It’s comparing apples and oranges.”

No matter what happens Saturday, Stafford has developed into a great quarterback. He’s learned to trust a very inexperienced offensive line. He stays in the pocket. He’s making better decisions.

“He’ll mix in some things now that are really not part of the plan, so to speak,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “A lot of times we’ll go to the line with two plays — you do this one or that one according to what they do, and we’ve been doing that for awhile. But there’s times now he may go to the line with two plays but go from good to best.”

Stafford’s game against LSU last Saturday was an impressive demonstration of his abilities. His passes look like a pencil in the short time they’re in the air. He threw an out route to Michael Moore in the first quarter that traveled 25 yards and landed in the only spot possible for a completion. I’ve seen paper footballs hover in the air longer than Stafford’s pass to Demiko Goodman over the middle in the first quarter.

In second quarter, Stafford recognized a blitz, checked to a fade route and threw a touchdown pass.

“And there’s a lot of young guys in the huddle,” fullback Brannan Southerland said. “He has them collected and focused.”

Of course, by winning Saturday and then beating either Kentucky or Auburn, Stafford can end this debate concerning his greatness. He would be a champion. And for Georgia, that would be pretty great.