ESPN's Jason Fitz: "Stetson Bennett Needs to get More Love."
As far as defending national champions go, Georgia has been a relatively tranquil one. There hasn't been any hiccups. No scandals have rocked the team. No fans clamoring for someone to be benched or fired.
Instead, Kirby Smart and his No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs (12-0, 8-0) have navigated the regular season with admirable efficiency. With that, some of the national spotlight has moved off the Bulldogs. Reporters want things to report, and Georgia has done a good job, so far, of not giving them anything. On the down side, it means some of the great storylines on the team maybe aren’t getting the attention they deserve.
One such storyline has been the performance of Stetson Bennett. The senior out of Nahunta is now 5th all-time in Georgia history with 3,151 passing yards in 2022. He hasn’t lost a regular season game since Florida in 2020, but because Georgia has been so overwhelmingly good, it doesn’t feel as if Bennett is being discussed with the other great quarterbacks across the country.
ESPN’s Jason Fitz noticed the same thing. During his SEC Championship Preview Show with former-Falcons wide receiver Harry Douglas, Fitz lamented Bennett not getting the attention he deserves.
“I don’t remember the last time I saw a defending national champion with an efficient quarterback, on an undefeated team, that we are not talking about. Stetson Bennett needs to get more love.” said Fitz.
“The reason why he isn’t getting more love is because [his playing style] isn’t sexy. Nowadays, in 2022, it’s all about the glitz and glamor. Throw for over 3,900 yards and 30-plus touchdowns. A lot of things being flashy. That’s why a lot of people don’t talk about Stetson Bennett.” remarked Douglas.
“One thing I admire about him is, he’s truly The Mailman. He delivers. I think, this season, a lot of people aren’t giving him credit, because of the simple fact: when you’re the national champion, you’re going to get everyone’s A-game, week in and week out. You have a target on your back."
“The Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart, they might not word it that way, but it’s reality. Everyone is gunning for you, week in and week out. I actually love his progression as a quarterback; from when he took over the job last year, to when he won the national championship, his approach this year. His first game of the year, against the Oregon Ducks, he was phenomenal; threw for over 330 yards and 3 touchdowns in that game.”
“I love what he is as a quarterback. He’s mentally ready. Think about this: [Stetson Bennett] can potentially win back-to-back national championships. And I’ve brought this up to people: when you think about the most famous Georgia Bulldog players of all time, Stetson Bennett is going to be in the category if he can pull out back-to-back national championship wins.”
Fitz would wrap up the conversation with this observation: “For me, it’s not just the way they’ve won games this year, it’s the swagger… To me, Stetson has come out this year and been so comfortable in his own skin, that what we’re seeing is a guy who’s like “I got this.”. Nothing seems to phase Stetson Bennett.”
Bennett will look to lead Georgia to their first SEC Championship since 2017 when they take on LSU this Saturday.
