JD PicKell: Stigma around Stetson Bennett could help Brock Bowers win the Heisman

After Georgia’s hot start took them from No. 3 to No. 1 in the polls and changed how many viewed the pecking order of college football in 2022, the ripple effect sent waves through the odds for many postseason honors. How Georgia’s spot atop the sport impacts the Heisman Trophy vote remains to be seen as the preseason favorites each come from the teams passed by Bulldogs.

The two early Heisman candidates based on production in the opening three weeks from Georgia are likely Stetson Bennett and Brock Bowers. On3’s JD PicKell broke down the path to the trophy for a tight end, something as improbable as a defensive player winning in the modern era of college football.

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“Georgia is going to win enough games to get him to New York,” said PicKell. “We know how this works, the best player on the best team wins the Heisman Trophy. Will Georgia be the best team at the end of the year? For Brock Bowers’ sake I hope so. At the very least, you don’t have to worry about wins being an issue for Brock Bowers getting there.”

With successful results the rest of the way viewed as the most likely outcome, continued production appears to be the only thing in the way of Bowers, or Bennett for that matter, making it onto the stage in December as a finalist.

JD PicKell on Stetson Bennett vs Brock Bowers

Anytime a team sends two players to the Heisman ceremony, there is a concern voters will be split on which one contributed most to the team’s success. However, that debate did not prove too much for Alabama wide receiver Devonta Smith winning the award over quarterback Mac Jones in 2020.

JD PicKell explained why he believes Bowers will also get the Heisman nod over Bennett despite big numbers for either meaning big numbers for both.

“Now you say, ‘ok, well is he the best player on the best team? Because Stetson Bennett is starting to make some noise.’ We’ve had this conversation before… there is a stigma around Stetson Bennett – and it’s not totally his fault – but from a public perspective it’s going to be hard to shake that and ultimately win the Heisman Trophy. Stetson Bennett is not super physically imposing, he is not necessarily a walking commercial like Baker Mayfield was when he was a walk-on and won the Heisman. Stetson Bennett just kind of goes about his business, plays on a really good team, has a lot of great players around him. And for whatever reason, there will always be some fragment of the population – a fragment of those voters even more so – that won’t give Stetson Bennett his due.

“For that reason, I think if there’s a person who wins the Heisman Trophy from this Georgia football team, it’s Brock Bowers,” said PicKell. “The star power that Stetson Bennett – not for his own fault – lacks is why I think you avoid that quarterback-tight end splitting votes scenario.”