Stetson Bennett

Stetson Fleming Bennett IV (born October 28, 1997), nicknamed "The Mailman",[2] is an American football quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs.[3] Bennett started his career as a walk-on at Georgia before transferring to Jones County Junior College. Bennett would transfer back to Georgia and win a National Championship in 2022 as the Bulldogs starting quarterback.

Stetson Bennett
Georgia Bulldogs – No. 13
PositionQuarterback
Class
Redshirt
Senior
MajorEconomics
Personal information
Born: (1997-10-28) October 28, 1997[1]
Atlanta, Georgia
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolPierce County High School
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Stetson Bennett was born on October 28, 1998, in Atlanta, Georgia. In the summer of 2004, when Bennett was 6 years old, his family moved from suburban Atlanta to Brantley in southeast Georgia where he played on the Brantley Bandits, a rec team coached by his father that played an ambitious 34-game travel schedule when he was 12. In addition to quarterback, Bennett played defensive back as well as baseball.

In eighth grade, Bennett's family moved again to nearby Blackshear, Georgia, in Pierce County, where he now considers home. It was in Blackshear that Bennett played high school football.[4][5]

High school career

Bennett played high school football at Pierce County High School, and led the school to three consecutive state playoff appearances, throwing for 3,724 yards, running for 500 more and scoring 40 total touchdowns as a senior. Despite this, Bennett was a two-star quarterback coming out of high school[6] and his only FBS scholarship offer came from Middle Tennessee State as coaches thought he was too short and too light—he was 5 feet 9.5 inches (1.765 m) and 185 pounds (84 kg) at the time.[7]

College career

2017

Bennett was a walk-on at Georgia his freshman season.

Bennett did not take a snap the whole season. After five-star high school quarterback Justin Fields committed to Georgia in 2018, Bennett decided to transfer to Jones County Junior College.

2018

After his transfer, Stetson played in 12 games and threw for 16 touchdowns for 1,840 yards. After his lone season at Jones County he entered the transfer portal for a second time. Stetson was a three-star prospect heading into his transfer. He was nearly about to join Louisiana, however, he ended up returning to Georgia. The Bulldogs were in need of a backup quarterback after Fields transferred to Ohio State. Georgia offered Stetson a scholarship. Stetson accepted and became Georgia's second-string quarterback.

2019

As Jake Fromm's backup, Stetson had two touchdowns and one interception on the season. Stetson also had one rushing touchdown. He most notably appeared in the SEC Championship Game when Jake Fromm went down with an injury.[8]

2020

Heading into his junior season, Bennett started the season as a backup quarterback to D'Wan Mathis. Mathis was named the starter after Jamie Newman, the planned starter, opted-out of the season. Bennett became the starter after poor play from Mathis.[9] A few months later, USC transfer JT Daniels took the starting job.[10]

2021

Bennett came into the season as the backup to JT Daniels. He made his first appearance and first start of the 2021 season against the UAB Blazers after Daniels went down with an oblique injury. In that game, Stetson tied the record for most touchdowns in a game by a Georgia quarterback with five.[11] Bennett would be trusted with the starting job the rest of the season and he led the Bulldogs to a 12-0 record. Bennett finished the season with 29 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.[12]

On December 4, 2021, Bennett would throw for three touchdowns and two interceptions in the 24-41 loss in the SEC Championship Game.[13] Bennett was criticized for the loss, leading many to believe that JT Daniels should get the start against Michigan in the Orange Bowl.[14]

On January 10, 2022, Bennett led the Georgia Bulldogs in their 33–18 win against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship in a rematch of the SEC Championship and was named the Offensive Player of the Game.[15] It was Georgia's first National Title win since 1980.

After the game he said about his victory, “I hope it gives someone a little hope. Keep your mouth shut, work hard. Life is tough. Work through it".[16]

2022

On January 20, 2022, just ten days after winning the National Championship, Bennett announced his return to Georgia.[17][18] This came after speculation that Bennett would transfer.[19] In the preseason, Adam Rittenberg named Bennett a Heisman Trophy candidate.[20]

Statistics

As of January 14, 2022:[12]

Passing Rushing
Year Team G Comp Att Pct Yds TD INT Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
2019 Georgia 4 20 27 74.1 260 2 1 172.0 4 12 3.0 1
2020 Georgia 8 86 155 55.5 1,179 8 6 128.7 24 54 2.3 2
2021 Georgia 14 185 287 64.5 2,862 29 7 176.7 56 259 4.6 1
Career 26 291 469 62.0 4,301 39 14 160.6 84 325 3.9 4

Personal life

Stetson Bennett IV is the son of Denise and Stetson Bennett III. His parents met at and graduated from the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. Bennett is the grandson of Buddy Bennett, who played quarterback for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks from 1958 to 1960 and later was a coach.[21]

References
  1. Smart, Kirby [@KirbySmartUGA] (October 28, 2021). "Happy birthday @StetsonIV! #GoDawgs t.co/hXDYJeD4dW" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. "Why is Stetson Bennett called the Mailman? The story behind Georgia's LEGENDARY QB's nickname". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  3. "Stetson Bennett – 2020 – Football". University of Georgia Athletics. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  4. Burns, Gabriel. "Stetson Bennett's story a testament to community that nurtured him". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  5. Weiszer, Marc. "'We love him, the crowd loves him.' How Stetson Bennett's upbringing and college journey resulted in UGA football glory". Online Athens. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  6. "Stetson Bennett, 2017 Pro-style quarterback – Rivals.com". n.rivals.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  7. Schlabach, Mark (January 8, 2022). "How Stetson Bennett went from walk-on to College Football Playoff National Championship". ESPN. ESPN. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  8. "Georgia QB Jake Fromm re-enters SEC Championship Game after suffering apparent ankle injury". DawgNation. December 7, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  9. "Who is Stetson Bennett? Former Georgia walk-on now Bulldogs' undisputed leader at quarterback". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  10. "JT Daniels to start against Mississippi State". 247Sports. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  11. Media, Field Level. "No. 2 Georgia throttles UAB behind Stetson Bennett's 5 TDs". Rockdale Citizen & Newton Citizen. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  12. "Stetson Bennett College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  13. "SEC Football: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Alabama Crimson Tide - Box Score - Dec 4, 2021". www.secsports.com. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  14. Forde, Pat. "Doubt Stetson Bennett at Your Own Risk". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  15. Farner, Keith. January 11,2022. “Stetson Bennett writes the final chapter of the best storybook tale in Georgia football history.” Saturday Down South.
  16. "Stetson Bennett completes journey from overlooked walk-on to Georgia hero". New York Post. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  17. "Stetson Bennett announces he will return for one more season at Georgia". OutKick. January 20, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  18. Corp, Eddie. "Stetson Bennett returns to Georgia: What the move means for the Bulldogs' quarterback room". Digis Mak. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  19. "Stetson Bennett hints at potential transfer after winning Georgia a national championship". FanSided. January 11, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  20. "Georgia football: Stetson Bennett named Heisman Trophy Candidate by ESPN writer". Dawgs247. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  21. Weiszer, Marc. "'We love him, the crowd loves him.' How Stetson Bennett's upbringing and college journey resulted in UGA football glory". Online Athens.
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