National Football Foundation considering Hall of Fame rule change to expand candidate pool

Despite winning two straight national titles, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is not eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame.

But that could change, according to Archie Manning. During a recent media call, he said the National Football Foundation “kicked around the idea” to get rid of the requirement of First-Team All-American to be eligible. Bennett never made it on that list during his time at Georgia.

Bennett asserted himself as one of the greatest quarterback in school history and made a rare list of quarterbacks to win back-to-back titles during his time at Georgia.

Bennett finished the national title win over TCU, as head coach Kirby Smart said, with arguably the best numbers of his career considering the circumstances. He was 18-of-25 passing for 304 yards, four touchdowns, 39 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Bennett was also a Heisman finalist, but USC quarterback Caleb Williams took home the hardware. The nomination alone is not quite Hall of Fame worthy, but it could add to Bennett’s overall resume.

During his Georgia tenure, Bennett threw for 8,428 yards, 66 touchdowns (70 total) and 21 interceptions while adding 530 rushing yards to his impressive numbers.

After coming to the team as a walk-on, transferring out to play JUCO ball, committing to Georgia a second time and becoming a two-time national champion, Heisman finalist, SEC champion – that only begins to describe the lore of Stetson Bennett. The Mailman delivered once again and became immortalized in Georgia Bulldogs football history.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame might be far away right now, but based on his college career, Bennett should get recognition for this honor.

The latest College Football Hall of Fame class included former Heisman winner Tim Tebow. Tebow was a legend at Florida, winning two national titles as well.

But Tebow was a First-Team All-American twice, which made him eligible for the prestigious honor.

Stetson Bennett to College Football Hall of Fame?

“The Hall of Fame thing, I have no idea…But, should this guy go in? That’s a long time away,” Smart admitted about Bennett. “I think 20 years ago when he comes back we’ll be able to talk about that, but I don’t know those prerequisites. I know he’s got GOAT status in Athens, Georgia forever.”

Ultimately, Smart thought people overlooked Stetson Bennett. Now, he thinks that Bennett deserves a look at the NFL level

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel“People have slept on Stetson Bennett for too long,” he said. “He needs an opportunity to play for a long time at the next level.”