ATHENS – The Georgia Bulldogs have an interesting dynamic at the quarterback position this spring. Everybody seems to know that Stetson Bennett is unquestioned as QB1, but it’s almost like nobody is allowed to say it.
Normally, the returning starter at quarterback from the defending national championship team would be front and center at every media opportunity the following year. Yet Bennett was not among the players UGA trotted out for spring practice media day before the first spring practice. It was in the second week, late in the evening after the fourth practice, when Bennett finally stood before reporters for his first extensive interview opportunity since the Bulldogs secured their 33-18 win over Alabama on Jan. 10.
And then Bennett somewhat awkwardly answered the predictable questions he fielded about what kind of assurances he had to get before committing to return for another season with the Bulldogs. In the end, he said it was simply “to play football at the University of Georgia.”
Emphasis should be added to the “to play” in that quote. As opposed to, shall we say, “stand on the sideline during games.”
That matter dispensed with, in addition to anecdotes about three-banded armadillos and being the answer to a Jeopardy question Tuesday, Bennett shared a few other insights in his 14-minute exchange with reporters.
Following are a few of those:
Q: How does it feel to be the first-team quarterback heading into the season?
A: You’d like to say always that you’re preparing to be the guy and you always work the same that you would, but we’re all human. Sometimes it seemed like, “Geez, I’m not going to play at all. If somebody comes in that’s better than me, they’re going to start; it’s the University of Georgia.” But there is a lot of more of, like, being hands-on with the routes, the way you want the guys to run the routes, how you feel comfortable with them, a lot more reps than last year. So, I guess there’s a lot more individual conversations about what I’m seeing and what they’re seeing, and so we get to know how to play football better together.
Q: What were the weeks immediately after winning the national championship like?
A: It was a whirlwind. There for about two weeks -- we hadn’t won one for 41 years -- the world exploded there for a second. I haven’t experienced anything like that before. But we got two weeks off because I think that’s NCAA rules, and so we were a little bit further behind. Typically, that two-week period would start before school started. This year it started right when school started. So, we were 10 or 11 days behind on football stuff. Once we started back, there was a little bit more of an urgency because we’d lost a week and a half from prior years between then and spring ball. We had less reps to get ready for spring ball, so there was an urgency to get the new enrollees in and get the old guys back in and ready to go for spring.
Q: What were the assurances you were looking for from coach (Kirby) Smart before you committed to returning?
A: There was a bunch of private conversations we won’t go into, but it was moreso just, you know, “How’re we going to do it this year?” I wanted to see what coach Smart had to do. I mean, obviously, I know he’s in charge, and we’re going to follow by his playbook. But I just wanted to know. For me, it was time for me to be a little selfish while I was making that decision. And then now I’m all aboard. Some of (the assurances) were what I wanted, some of it wasn’t. They were closed-door conversations, but for me, I wanted to come back and play football at the University of Georgia.
Q: How has your life changed since the (national championship)?
A: You know, I started a few games here before. I like to relate it all to, you know, I was the starting quarterback in high school, so people knew who I was in high school. I came here, (played) scout team, and somebody wrote an article about me out at the Rose Bowl. So, you know, it wasn’t that different. It wasn’t like nobody had ever heard of me. But it did kind of explode there for a second.
Q: How have you managed all the NIL opportunities that have come your way?
A: I had to look at it and say, “OK, you can’t give your time out to everybody who wants it. Right?” Thank goodness I have a great support staff to help me out with that. But I know what’s important, school-wise, football-wise, personal life-wise, to not get too spread-thin. I lived without NIL for a long time, I can live without it for a long time. It’s giving me, like through DGD Fund (a charitable platform founded by Bennett, Payne Walker, Owen Condon, John Staton and John FitzPatrick -- all current or former UGA football players), ways to help people and stuff like that. So, I love it, but I’m not allowing it to be a distraction.
Q: Why play another season? Why not ride off into the sunset with your MVP trophy?
A: I love football. I love this team. I love the relationships. I love the things that it teaches you. I also don’t think that I’m as good as I’m going to be. I don’t think this team is as good as it’s going to be. You know, it’s about the daily grind, the daily competition. “Where do we want to be next week? Where do we want to be tomorrow?” It’s those little mental goals. And you know, why does anybody ever do it again when they’ve won something? “That felt good. Let’s go do it again. Let’s compete every day and go out and see if we’ve got what it takes next year.”
Q: How is spring ball different this year than previous years?
A: I’d say it’s more of a comfort thing for me. We all knew JT (Daniels) was the guy going into last year, right? I wasn’t taking any reps. So, who was I to come over and say, “Hey, let’s run the route this way.” But now there’s a comfort level and a respect level from both sides. I can go up and say, “We’re not doing that; we’re going to do this.” Somebody can tell me, too. It’s not like I’m the parent. We’re brothers; we’re on the same football team. If you see me doing something wrong, a drop or something, come let me know. So, it’s more of a comfort thing. And being more vocal. I’ve never been too vocal. I’ve always been kind of chill, even-flow. But that’s been a point I’ve tried to step up this spring.
Q: What’s it like having coach Mike Bobo around (as a quality-control analyst)?
A: Coach Bobo is the man. I knew his dad (George Bobo) for longer because he worked the Bobby Lamb football camp up at Mercer, and I’d go there, and he had me on a ladder since I was a little kid. So, this is actually the first time I’ve met his son, coach Bobo. He’s easy to talk to. I don’t want to speak for him or coach (Will) Muschamp, but when they come back and – I don’t know their job titles – but when they’re not DCs or OCs, they’re probably glad to be back to just coaching now. So I figure it’s probably a little bit more fun for them. They bring 30 years of football knowledge to the staff, so it’s been invaluable.
Q: What was it like taking over for Daniels midseason last year?
A: Yeah, it was a struggle. Again, I think me and JT did an unbelievable job not dividing the locker room, both when he came over and took over for me (in 2020) and when I took over for him this past year. We both did an incredible job. But there was that sense of, “I don’t want to create this (breach) if I do this. If I do, will it create that?” A little over-thinking. But, anyway, it has gotten easier this spring, being the guy coming in, expected to be the starter. And building a year of relationships being the guy, let’s see how far we can go this next year.
Q: What are your most important areas of improvement?
A: I think the leading stat for winning or losing football games, besides explosive plays, is turnovers. So, you can’t turn the ball over. And then another one is lost-yardage plays. So, how can we not turn the ball over and in critical moments when we need first downs and how can we get out of a bad play and turn it into a good play. How can a negative-yards play turn into a positive play? Those kind of decision-makings have an incalculable benefit when a quarterback can do both those things.
Q: How are you getting along with the other quarterbacks, Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton?
A: First of all, Carson’s a vet now; Carson’s a stud. Gunner has come in and he takes over the playbook. He’s asking me questions, wants to learn. ‘What’s this, what’s that, what’s this mean, what’s that mean?’ He’s soaking all that up like a sponge. Brock’s getting better every day. He’s in the playbook and doing his thing. I think we have an awesome relationship. I try to foster that in the quarterback room. Whenever those guys need help, I’m always there for them.
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