Stetson Bennett shares moving story on grandfather's football story

Much has been made about Stetson Bennett and his football journey. After all, he went from three-star recruit with one power-five offer to national championship starting quarterback at Georgia.

However, Bennett’s grandfather has a cooler story.

Buddy Bennett played quarterback at South Carolina from 1958-60 and rushed for a team-high 401 yards during his senior year. But his path to the Gamecocks was, as The Beatles say, a long and winding road.

Bennett explained in his national title game press conference this week.

“Growing up, you always looked up to your granddad, at least I know I did – both of them, my mom’s dad and my dad’s dad,” Bennett said. “But my dad’s dad, he played football at Stetson University. They quit the program. He hitchhiked to South Carolina [and] was the ACC’s leading rusher.

“Like I said, people make it such a hoopla about my journey. I didn’t freaking hitchhike anywhere. That’s just what you want to do if you want to play football. And it’s as simple as that. Maybe people aren’t willing to do it anymore. But it never seemed like a big deal to me. And I guess that comes from seeing his example.”

That 1960 South Carolina team went 3-6-1 — a stark contrast to Georgia’s season this year. The Bulldogs are 13-1 and gearing up for a national championship showdown with No. 1 Alabama.

Buddy Bennett passed away in 2016. As Stetson Bennett gets ready for the biggest game of his career, he’s trying to win — and make his grandfather proud.

“You always want to make him proud and the texts that get me the most after a good game or whatever, saying papa would be proud of you,” Bennett said. “And you always want to make your family proud and leave the family name in a better spot after you’ve had it. And I know that’s just football. I know there’s a lot more to life than that. But while I’m here I’m going to try to do the best I can for it.”

Georgia is a 2.5-point favorite over Alabama in the game, according to VegasInsider. Last month, the Bulldogs fell to the Crimson Tide 41-24 in the SEC Championship. They bounced back well on New Year’s Eve, though, beating No. 2 Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl to set up a highly anticipated rematch with Nick Saban’s Alabama team.

The College Football Playoff national championship game kicks off from Indianapolis Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.