Georgia's Most Important Players: Stetson Bennett

Stetson Bennett's collegiate career has been one of the most remarkable stories to track over the years. A player who started out as an afterthought on the depth chart to now a national champion and ending the program's 41-year championship drought.

Despite that, there is still quite a bit of criticism surrounding Bennett's name, but there is still no denying him being one of Georgia's most important players heading into the upcoming season.

One of the most significant factors that have put Bennett in the position that he is now currently in is the amount of confidence and trust that his teammates and coaches have in him. He may not be the quarterback who is dripping with tools or is leading the Heisman Trophy race but he has managed to win over his locker room and become a player his coaches can trust.

In fact, earlier this offseason, head coach Kirby Smart discussed Bennett being the starter in 2022 and said, "I don't have to say that. Our team knows that Stetson is our quarterback. Stetson's done a tremendous job. Stetson's been an incredible leader, and done what we've asked."

Coach Smart in years past has not been one to name a starting quarterback outright, especially this early in the offseason but it's clear he has a large amount of trust in Bennett and is pleased with everything that his quarterback has continued to bring to the table.

Although, despite Bennett playing college football for the past five years, he is still continuing to grow and improve as a player. Coach Smart even made comments back in March about what he would like to see Bennett be better at:

"Make better decisions. We were late over the middle a couple of times with balls and late in the season. He would be the first to tell you he didn't play perfect, he made some really good plays for us with his feet, with his legs, with his decision making, but you just wanna take out some of the bone head throws, some of the bone head mistakes that he has made from time to time."

The good news for Bennett is that this is the first offseason in his career that he has had the opportunity to work with the first offensive unit and get a considerable amount of reps at practice. All of which are factors that are crucial to a player's development.

With as much faith and confidence that Bennett's teammates and coaches exude in him, those things alone make him one of the Bulldog's most important players heading into the upcoming season. He was a big reason why Georgia was so successful last season, and with him leading the offensive charge in 2022 there is no opposing Bennett's importance to this football team.

Here's what Lead Editor of Dawgs Daily, Brooks Austin thought of Bennett's spring performance:

"I saw a quarterback playing with confidence in his job title and positioning. He took risks, he tried to figure out what he can and can't get away with this upcoming season, and he played with confidence. Bennett will have to play on the line between reckless and conservative in 2022, with much more responsibility being given to the offense. Bennett has far more arm talent than given credit for, and he cleans up more issues in front of him than most collegiate quarterbacks with both intellect and athletic ability."