Stetson Bennett to throw out first pitch at Braves home-opener
Former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett will throw out the first pitch at the home opener tonight for the Atlanta Braves. Bennett led the Bulldogs to back-to-back National Championships the last two years, becoming the first Georgia quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards in a single season while being named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
A native of Blackshear, Ga., Bennett spent five of his six collegiate seasons at Georgia. After joining the program as a walk-on in 2017 and drawing praise for his performance on the scout team, Bennett decided that the best option for him was to leave Athens and pursue other options, playing at Jones Community College in Ellisville, Miss. in 2018. There he led Jones to a 10-2 overall record, a Mississippi Bowl win and a MACJC conference championship game.
Bennett was headed to Louisiana Tech after his single season at the JUCO level, but then Georgia came calling again, this time with a scholarship to offer the quarterback. He backed up Jake Fromm in 2019 and started the 2020 season on the bench before having to save the day for the Bulldogs in the season-opener against Arkansas. Bennett completed 20 of 29 passes for 211 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also running in a 2-point conversion, earning his the starting job from that point forward. However, an injury – plus poor play – in the annual Georgia-Florida rivalry game sent him to the sideline once again, this time for good with JT Daniels starting each of the final four contests.
Daniels started three of the first four for Georgia in 2021 too, but in a twist of fate, he headed to the sideline due to a pair of injuries. That opened the door for Bennett once again who took advantage of the opportunity and earned himself the starting position the rest of the way on the way to Georgia’s first National Championship in 41 years. Bennett threw for 2,419 yards and 23 touchdowns in the final 11 games as the starter including 537 yards and five touchdowns in the College Football Playoffs. Doing so earned him Offensive MVP honors in both the semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl versus Michigan and the National Championship Game against Alabama.
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Bennett returned for his final year of eligibility in 2022 and, he saved his best season for last. Throwing for a total of 4,127 yards and 27 touchdowns while adding another 10 scores on the ground, Bennett won MVP in each of Georgia’s postseason games – the SEC Championship, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the National Championship. He threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns and had a pair of rushing scores as well in the 65-7 title game win over TCU, tying a National Championship Game record for touchdowns accounted for. Bennett won the Burlsworth Award as the nation’s top former walk-on, was a Heisman Trophy finalist and took home the Manning Award after the season was over for the country’s top quarterback – including postseason performance in the evaluation.
Bennett threw out the first pitch at a Georgia baseball game last year and follows in the footsteps of Jordan Davis who did so last season at Truist Park. First pitch between the Braves and San Diego Padres is set for 7:20 p.m. ET.
