Stetson Bennett back at Georgia, honored with trophy

Former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is honored during the second quarter of Georgia’s game against Ole Miss at Sanford Stadium, Saturday, November 11, 2023, in Athens, Ga. (Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com)

Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is honored during the second quarter of Georgia’s game against Ole Miss at Sanford Stadium, Saturday, November 11, 2023, in Athens, Ga. (Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com)

Former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was on the sideline for the Bulldogs game against Ole Miss on Saturday night.

Bennett, who led Georgia to back-to-back national championships, received his second Burlsworth Trophy, awarded to the best college player who began their career as a walk-on. The trophy was given to Bennett during an on-field presentation during a second-quarter timeout. He was all smiles as he raised the trophy to the cheers of the large crowd.

Bennett was selected by the Rams in the fourth round (No. 128 overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft after leading Georgia to the titles. Bennett had appeared to earn the backup quarterback spot with the Rams behind Matthew Stafford. However, before the season, it was announced that Bennett would be away from the team for non-football related issues. No more specifics were given.

Earlier this month, after Stafford suffered an injury, Rams head coach Sean McVay said it was unlikely that Bennett would play this season.

“I’m not ready to say that he won’t be back with us at all this year, but it’s probably less likely than it is likely he would be,” McVay said.

McVay said that Bennett is “doing well.”

This week, the Rams signed veteran Carson Wentz to back up Stafford.

Bennett’s appearance at Sanford Stadium is his first publicly since the parade to celebrate the 2022 national championship earlier this year.