Stetson Bennett is Entering an Unfamiliar Situation

Despite it being his sixth season in college football, having started 18 games in that time, Stetson Bennett is entering unfamiliar territory entering 2022.

As Georgia prepares to begin their summer workouts, fall camp is quickly approaching after receiving the last batch of freshmen earlier this week for the official move-in day. 

For sixth-year senior quarterback Stetson Bennett this will be nothing new, as he's already well acquainted with Georgia's offseason strength and conditioning program solely focused on getting the team ready for the grueling days in August. 

Yet it is not all familiar territory for the Blackshear, Ga., native this offseason. Bennett will be entering fall camp as the projected starter at quarterback, following a 2021 season where Bennett entered the season without much of a shot of even being in contention for the starting job. 

As we all know, injuries to then-starter JT Daniels opened the door for Bennett to ascend back up the depth chart as Georgia's number one option under center. As a result, Bennett led Georgia to the program's first national championship since 1980 as the starting quarterback. And despite the mainstream narrative around the former walk-on, Bennett's performance during Georgia's playoff run was one of the best two games of his career, statistically speaking. 

Stetson Bennett in the Playoffs this year:

37/56 (66%) for 537 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 0 INTS

For comparison, here's Trevor Lawrence from the 18-19 CFP

47/71 (66%) for 674 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 0 INTs.

Pretty dang similar, yet some people say Bennett needs replacing.

— Harrison Reno (@HarrisonReno) June 2, 2022

In an interview with Paul Finebaum, Kirby Smart detailed his thoughts on Stetson Bennett this offseason. 

"Stetson had a really good spring, too. Stetson went out and made some plays. He's grown and gotten better. This is a guy that didn't get these reps. You think of a national championship quarterback — 'Oh, he got all the reps last spring.' He didn't. He wasn't the guy. He was third-string last spring. So, some of these are his first time getting reps. And he's also very comfortable in coach (Todd) Monken's offense, which is going to give us a chance to be more successful."

Bennett threw for 2,862 yards, 29 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions after receiving limited reps with the first and second team offense last fall. With a full offseason under his belt, using the free year of eligibility provided by the NCAA could be one of the best decisions of Bennett's career.

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