McCurley: Let's talk about Stetson Bennett…
McCurley: Let's talk about Stetson Bennett…
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is living the dream.
I envy him because he accomplished something that hadn’t occurred in a long time, which was helping bring a national title back to Athens. It was a magical season for Dawg Nation.
I grew up with the same dream, but obviously, I am here writing about him. He is living the life I always dreamt of, but I am happy with how things turned out (for both of us).
Above my bed growing up was a painting of a kid dreaming about leading the Bulldogs out onto the field against arch-rival Florida. In the portrait, the kid is laying asleep on his bed and there’s a dream bubble that contains that image of the UGA player and his teammates getting ready to line up in a huddle versus the swamp Lizards.
I’m not making this up.
I thought about this painting on Saturday as I watched Bennett gash the Oregon secondary all game long. The portrait filled my mind all day Sunday, which led to this column.
I never had the mental fortitude (or physical ability) to be a quarterback at the Division I level. A lot of people said the same about Bennett, but he proved his doubters. This is a young man who put away all of the noise and overcame a lot of adversity.
I couldn’t have done that.
In the offseason, Bennett had the chance to ride off into the sunset, but he chose to return. He had his naysayers and critics heading into the 2022 season, but I believe he silenced them again on Saturday against the Ducks. Bennett completed 25-of-31 pass attempts for 368 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a rushing score in the big victory.
That was against a Power 5 program, which was coached by former Georgia defensive coordinator, Dan Lanning. Oregon was also ranked No. 11 overall in the polls heading into the contest.
That’s not something to dismiss.
“I don't think Stetson really gets affected by anything I do, you do or anybody does,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said following the win over Oregon. “Stetson lives in his own world, and he does a really good job of blocking out all the noise. The guy had a flip phone in 2021. He doesn't really get into all that. I think that's what his kind of edge is, and he made some plays that he didn't make the right decisions on today, and he knows those. He knows his mistakes. He's got to be smart. He does things that maybe we don't ask him to do. But he did make some plays with his feet, and I think you take the good, and I'm not going to call it bad, but you take the good with his poor decisions.”
It’s easy to see that Bennett got stronger in the offseason and has studied a lot of film.
His decision-making skills have improved vastly, especially in the passing game after finally receiving reps as QB1. That was something he hadn’t ever done in his previous five seasons at UGA.
Now, I am not going to gawk over one game for that long, because the Bulldogs have a long season ahead, but I did want to point out the positives I saw in the Peach State native.
Bennett could have just mailed it in, not cared about his season after winning it all, and been complacent; however, he put in the work during the offseason and it showed on Saturday.
I have a lot of respect for someone that can do that.
Bennett is where he is because of his love for the game, and his willingness to never give up. He also embodies the mentality of never getting complacent. That’s what you want in a leader.
Stetson also never takes ‘no’ for an answer. He’s confident in his approach to football, and knows he isn’t the most physically gifted athlete, but goes out and performs anyway.
The painting that used to hang above my bed when I was a kid tells a story, and it’s not mine. I think it paints the picture (no pun intended) of a guy like Bennett, who has a great story. Now, it’s just a matter of time until we see the movie or documentary come out.
In my opinion (and maybe I am being a little biased here) the tale of Georgia’s Stetson Bennett is way better than Rudy Ruettiger. He was offsides, anyways, while the Bulldogs’ storied hero did a lot more against Georgia Tech on the field than Rudy ever did.