Smart: Stetson Bennett solidified G.O.A.T. status in Athens

LOS ANGELES — After what feels like a career that lasted forever, Stetson Bennett has played his final game in a Georgia uniform, and according to Kirby Smart, it might have been his best. Bennett, who was named Offensive MVP of the College Football Playoff Championship Game for a second straight season, threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns while also added 39 yards on the ground with two more scores. His six touchdowns accounted for ties Joe Burrow for a National Championship Game record – BCS or CFP era.

“Stetson speaks for himself, the way he leads and prepares. His mental makeup is such of a quarterback that believes he can make every throw and what he did tonight was truly amazing,” Smart said in his postgame press conference. “Probably had his best game of his career, in my opinion, with some of the checks he made, some of the decisions he made, just really elite.”

Smart described Bennett as a quarterback capable of beating you no matter what call a defensive coordinator makes. Coming from a coach with defense in his background, that’s high praise. Lucky for Smart, Bennett was on his side of things tonight.

“He saw the max blitz and he beat the max blitz and ran for a first down in one of the biggest plays of the game which takes a phenomenal athlete. He knew what was coming and he set the guy up,” Smart said as he recalled Bennett’s 12-yard scramble on 3rd and 10, avoiding the oncoming pressure of star TCU linebacker Dee Winters. “He did a change of protection and made an elite throw. He schemed up a run, ran a mid-line run which nobody runs. He ran for a touchdown because he’s got a tackle that’s like a tight end out there in Broderick. When you have a quarterback that can do the protections and check things and know what the defense is doing, yet still beat you with your feet, you’ve got a high-level quarterback. And people have slept on Stetson Bennett for too long. He needs an opportunity to play for a long time at the next level.”

To say that Bennett’s story is the kind of thing movies are made out of is cliché at this point. There’s no doubting that he’s been slept on throughout his career as Smart said. The Blackshear, Ga. native went from lowly recruited high school player to scout team sensation. He transferred out only to transfer back in from JUCO. Bennett was buried on the depth chart, saved the day and became the starter, got benched all before eventually getting another crack at it and taking advantage of the opportunity. In doing so, Bennett was able to lead Georgia to back-to-back National Championships, something only a handful of teams – and quarterbacks – have done in College Football history. So, on Monday with 13:25 to go in the game, Smart took his first timeout and gave Bennett the curtain call the legend deserved.

“The huddle, I told all the guys, ‘What are we doing? Why don’t we have a play?’ I was, like, they’re letting me walk out of here,” Bennett said. “But in the huddle, just as simple as it is, just one last huddle with the guys, you know? And that was special coming off and seeing Coach Smart, that was really cool. And I appreciate that.”

Smart joked that it was the first time ever that Bennett’s come off hugging him instead of the two being in a seemingly heated discussion as TV cameras have caught over the last three seasons. Simply put, Smart appreciates what guys like Bennett have meant to the program he’s built over his seven seasons in Athens, a place where Bennett will always be fondly remembered.

As for the greatest quarterback in Georgia history discussion, Bennett – the first quarterback in program history to throw for 4,000 yards in a season – humbly said it’s not as simple as many make it out to be.

“I mean, there’s so many different variables that go in – scheme, players around you. I mean, you know, I’ve been with Monk for three years, we brought back pretty much the entire core of our offense from last year, so we were all clicking. We had a really good offense,” Bennett said. “It makes me proud of what I’ve accomplished when I hear that because it means I’ve done some things right, but I don’t know if it’s accurate or not. I grew up watching Murray and Stafford and Shock and Greene. And who’s to say? Those dudes were all amazing.”

“The hall of fame thing, I have no idea,” Smart added when asked whether the College Football Hall of Fame should amend its requirements for a player like Bennett to be able to make it in without having been named an All-American. “… Should this guy go in? It’s a long time away. I think 20 years from now when he comes back we’ll talk about that. But I don’t know those prerequisites. I know he’s got G.O.A.T. status in Athens, Georgia forever.”