JD PicKell: The root of Stetson Bennett disrespect is all about misperceptions

Following of his career performance against Oregon, much has been made about whether Stetson Bennett is getting the respect he deserves. That’s why On3’s J.D. PicKell discussed misperceptions about the Georgia quarterback and how that impacts his national standing.

From a statistical standpoint, Bennett threw for the least amount of passing yards of the four CFP quarterbacks last year — himself, Bryce Young, Desmond Ridder and Cade McNamara. But he also differs from those other quarterbacks and “elite” quarterbacks around college football because of his makeup. Bennett came in as a walk-on and even transferred to Jones College before returning to Georgia in 2019. That’s why he’s built differently and carries himself differently than former five-stars.

PicKell said that also impacts Bennett’s perception, nationally.

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“He’s not looking like Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes out there,” PicKell said on The Hard Count. “He’s a pretty pedestrian human being. Just goes about his business, completes passes, gets to their talented playmakers, does his job. And the fact that we don’t see him putting up these video game-like numbers and we don’t see him throwing for six touchdowns a game like another cat down there at Alabama who’s got the Heisman Trophy in his apartment in Tuscaloosa.

“That’s why I think we get hung up because what Stetson Bennett is and how he operates is a little bit of a different pace and different tempo and, ultimately, a different perception than the rest of — not just this Georgia roster, but a lot of other programs, a lot of other quarterbacks in his competitive space in the SEC, on the national landscape.”

JD PicKell: Georgia asks different things of Stetson Bennett than Alabama asks of Bryce Young

PicKell also compared what Young does at Alabama to what Bennett does at Georgia. The numbers say Young is the superior quarterback, and understandably so. But PicKell argued Georgia asks Bennett do to different things than Alabama asks Young to do.

That, he said, also impacts things.

“We put Stetson Bennett in our mind, in a different place because quite frankly, he’s got freak shows all around,” PicKell said. “So that kind of makes him in some shape or form, I don’t want to say a step down, but you just put him in a different space in your mind, ultimately.

“But also, they ask different things of Stetson Bennett than Alabama does of Bryce Young. Stetson Bennett for a lot of the time last year at Georgia was given the responsibility to manage the offense and give the ball to those five-stars. And did it to nearly perfection en route to them winning the national title.”