Stetson Bennett brings home 2022 Burlsworth Trophy

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was named a finalist for the most prestigious award in College Football – the Heisman Trophy – on Monday, but he won another notable one too, taking home the 2022 Burlsworth Trophy over Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell and Troy linebacker Carlton Martial as the nation’s top former walk on.

“This is a special honor. Thank you Marty and Ms. Vicky (Burlsworth). This award is what it is because of who Brandon (Burlsworth) was and what he did, but people know his story because of you two. So thank you for that … Momma, Daddy, Knox, Luke, Maverick, Olivia, I wish the last two were here but I’ll see them over Christmas, I love you guys. I meant it earlier, I am who I am because of you … Buster (Faulkner), you’re the man. Thank you for being the voice of reason of a crazy sideline. We’ve seen it all. We’ve been through it … To my teammates, how ’bout them Dawgs baby? SEC Champs! I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for y’all, the coaching staff, everybody in that program,” Bennett said to open his acceptance speech. “Everybody cares about winning, but y’all are great people and it’s been the pleasure of my life being there. It’s been a long period of my life being there, but I’m also very appreciative of it. I wish each and every one of my teammates could be here. I don’t know that they could accept this award. They took the easy way out and got scholarships out of high school (laughter).”

“I love football. There’s a lot of hoopla and other stuff that goes into it, but at it’s core it’s a pure sport. It’s beautiful. I love everything about it, and I love being a walk on because it allowed me to see that,” Bennett continued. “It allowed me to grow up a little bit when I wasn’t grown coming out. I’m still not grown, and hopefully I stay a kid forever honestly. Being a walk on humbles you, but it also allows me to know you without knowing you. Most other awards I would say, you can look at it and imagine that they are a good football player. This one, you can look at it and imagine the person that they are and you can be right nearly 100% of the time. That’s because being a walk on is not easy. It’s a huge honor.”

On the season, Bennett has thrown for 3,425 yards and 20 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He’s also added seven rushing scores and 184 yards on the ground on 47 attempts. However, his career hasn’t always been filled with Heisman Trophy-like numbers and immediate success. His journey to that is exactly what qualifies him for the award.

The Burlsworth Trophy is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, who walked on at Arkansas in 1994 and eventually became a three-year starter and an All-American. He was selected by Indianapolis in the 1999 NFL Draft, but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory to support the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular those who have limited opportunities.

“I feel like I know Brandon a little bit because we’ve been there,” Bennett said. “Football growing up is the thing that you’re best at. It’s the thing that you believe in and the thing you spent the most time doing. You thought you were pretty good in your hometown, right? And then you walk on in college and you find out, this thing that you said you were the best at in the world and spent most of your time at in the world and care about most in the world, it ain’t good enough to play here. So when people talk about Brandon and his legacy, it’s hard to remember that but I think it’s important to. He didn’t just run bleachers a lot. He didn’t just do more push up than other people. He came out, thought he had a good practice one day and his coach still told him he wasn’t good enough. That’s a long, long look in the mirror. That’s dark when you get down that road. But that’s why he’s so special, because he took that mirror and broke it over his knee and became an All-American and he got drafted.”

Bennett arrived at Georgia in 2017 as a walk-on. He played on the scout team before leaving for Jones College (Miss.) ahead of the 2018 season. Then, when the opportunity arose to come back to Georgia on scholarship as a backup quarterback, he did so.

Bennett served as the backup quarterback to Jake Fromm in 2019 and started the 2020 season off well down the depth chart. However, after being called upon to save the day for Georgia in the season-opener at Arkansas – ironically where Burlsworth played his college career – Bennett received the starting nod the next five games. He threw for 1,179 yards and eight touchdowns before being sidelined with an injury and watching former five-star JT Daniels take the team the rest of the way.

Just like he hadn’t before, Bennett didn’t shy away from competition in 2021 either. He started the season off down the depth chart once again before taking over for an injured Daniels. Once the starting job was his for the final 10 contests, he took off and wrote the tale of Georgia’s storybook season. Bennett threw for 2,862 yards and 29 touchdowns as he lead Georgia to the program’s first National Championship in over 40 years. He was named Offensive MVP for both of the Bulldogs’ games in the College Football Playoffs, combining for 537 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over Michigan and Alabama.

Bennett has Georgia back on the big stage this season with the Bulldogs going 13-0 for the first time in program history. He was named MVP of the SEC Championship Game this past Saturday throwing for a season-high four touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 50-30 win over LSU. Doing so helped secure Georgia a spot in the College Football Playoffs where it holds the top seed and will take on Ohio State in the semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on December 31st in Atlanta.