Georgia QB Stetson Bennett identifies the key to his success

When Stetson Bennett IV takes the field as Georgia’s starting quarterback on Saturday, it’ll be the first time he has done so to start a football season. Bennett has appeared in 22 games for the Bulldogs the past two years with 17 starts. He helped the Bulldogs to a National Championship in 2022 while earning MVP honors and in an interview aired on ESPN’s College Game Day ahead of the season opener vs. Oregon, the former walk-on shared one of the keys to the success he has experienced.

“I think it’s a little bit of stubbornness. I think more so than anything it was,” Bennett said in sit down with ESPN’s Marty Smith. “…There’s just a dash of stupidity, right? A little he isn’t big enough, he isn’t fast enough, but somebody forgot to tell him. I think somebody forgot to tell me.”

Bennett arrived at UGA in 2017 as a preferred walk-on. He wasn’t even in the mix for playing time that season. Jacob Eason was the starter and Jake Fromm was the backup. When Eason went down with a knee injury in the season opener against Appalachian State that season, Fromm took over and started 14 games, leading the Bulldogs to an SEC Championship and an appearance in the College Football Playoff and National Championship game.

With little chance of becoming the guy heading into the following season, Bennett left for Jones Community College in Mississippi so he could earn some playing time. After that season, when Georgia needed to restock the cupboard at quarterback due to Justin Fields’ decision to transfer, Bennett was offered the chance to come back on scholarship. He took it.

The 2019 season saw him serve as Fromm’s backup, appearing in just three games. Todd Monken was hired as UGA’s offensive coordinator after the 2019 season and told Bennett heading into the 2020 campaign that he wasn’t a part of UGA’s plans at the position.

Things changed after D’Wan Mathis struggled mightily in the season-opening start at Arkansas. Bennett entered the game in the second quarter and helped the Bulldogs come back and win that one. He then started the next four games against Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Florida where the Bulldogs went 3-2.

After suffering a separated shoulder in UGA’s loss to Florida, Bennett was supplanted by J.T. Daniels, who had transferred in from USC prior to the 2020 season. Daniels started the final four games of that season. He helped Georgia to a 4-0 record and began the 2021 season as the No. 1 signal caller.

Multiple core injuries for Daniels thrust Bennett back into action and he never looked back. The Bulldogs went 12-0 in the regular season but lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. That league title game loss caused many to clamor for Daniels to regain the starting job.

UGA made the College Football Playoff as a No. 3 seed despite that loss and Bennett responded with an MVP performance vs. Michigan in the Orange Bowl to earn a rematch with Alabama in the National Championship game.

The first three quarters were a struggle but Bennett came alive in the fourth, going four of four on UGA’s last two possessions with a pair of touchdown passes. UGA toppled The Crimson Tide and earned its first National Championship in 41 years.

Now, in his sixth season, Bennett has a stranglehold on the starting job. He got the first-team reps during preseason camp for the first time in his career.

As Kirk Herbstreit pointed out after that interview aired on Saturday, Bennett may not look the part. He may not have the same star-rating as other starters, but he finds a way to get the job done.