Stetson Bennett refuses to back down because of mental make-up
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett has been in College Football for six years. In that time, he’s started 31 games – plus a hand full at the JUCO level too. There’s been highs and there’s been lows, but as Bennett heads into what will be his last career game at Georgia, one thing remains the same: his mental approach to the game.
“I try to see things for what they are, and I don’t let people tell me what they are,” Bennett said when asked what it was about himself that’s allowed him to get to this point in his career. “I try to figure that out on my own. And I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that.”
“I think it’s his mental disposition. I think he doesn’t think of the moment any different than the first quarter from the fourth quarter,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart added about his quarterback. “He doesn’t feel that. He is a processor. He’s a deep thinker. He just goes through the process of what he’s going to do and doesn’t let it affect him. He’s never real real high or real real low, which I think is a great trait for a quarterback. And I think that helps him in the fourth quarter to be able to go execute. He has a lot of confidence.”
No moment better exemplifies Bennett’s mental approach to the game than the final 15 minutes of Georgia’s 42-41 win over Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinals. With the Bulldogs down 14 points entering the fourth quarter, Bennett knew what needed to happen. In recapping the way that he and his team played, Bennett said that there were about 30 minutes of bad football in the middle that cause them to have to play just about perfect for the final 15. He did just that, throwing for 190 yards on 10-of-12 passing including a perfect 6-for-6 for 143 yards and two touchdowns on the final two drives.
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“Yeah, I mean, it’s the same thing that keeps you playing when you’re playing unbelievable in the moment. You know it’s football and there’s always something that you don’t know that’s going to happen. It’s cliché, but it’s not over until that fat lady sings,” Bennett said. “You owe it to your teammates more, and if you give up it’s almost a selfish thing because people out there are relying on you. You’re not just playing for yourself, so there really wasn’t an option but to keep going. Things worked out and we played really well at the end.”
Five days away from kickoff of the National Championship Game against TCU, Bennett knows that he has to be better. That might be tough considering the career-high 398 yards that he threw for in the semifinal against Ohio State but being consistent for the full 60 minutes certainly would help. Good news for Georgia though: no matter how Bennett’s playing, he’s going to keep fighting until the finish. After all, he wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t.
