An old quote by Kirby Smart about Stetson Bennett went viral on Tuesday, the day after the former walk-on quarterback led Georgia to its first national championship since 1980.
Bennett was a two-star recruit coming out of high school and joined Georgia as a walk-on in 2017. Even though Bennett was lightly recruited in part due to his size, Smart saw something in him that he liked.
Derrik Allen shared the story on Twitter Tuesday about what Smart said about Bennett years ago.
“Sitting on a golf cart w/ Kirby and [Coach Ced Dickerson] while my oldest was working out for Mel Tucker & Stetson & 2 other QB’s were throwing for OC & Kirby said ‘that little QB they call him mailman he’ll prob (sic) never play here but I’m gonna bring him in as a walk-on bc (sic) he tough as s—,'” Allen tweeted (edited by LBS for profanity).
That’s a great story and a great quote. Smart liked Bennett because the quarterback was “tough as s—.”
Bennett initially didn’t have much of a path to play for the Bulldogs and left for a junior college. Bennett played the 2018 season at Jones County Junior College and was set to transfer to another college. However, Justin Fields, who was behind Jake Fromm on the depth chart, left Georgia and transferred to Ohio State. Georgia then offered Bennett a scholarship to come serve as Fromm’s backup.
Two more quarterbacks transferred in to Georgia. JT Daniels transferred in from USC but got injured this season and lost the job to Bennett. Jamie Newman transferred in from Wake Forest but opted out for the 2020 season, which opened the door for Bennett and D’Wan Mathis.
Two years in a row, Bennett took over for another Georgia quarterback. In 2020 it was Mathis. In 2021 it was Daniels.
Of all the quarterbacks Georgia has had over the years — Matthew Stafford, David Greene, DJ Shockley, Aaron Murray, Jacob Eason, Jake Fromm — it was Stetson Fleming Bennett IV who delivered the Dawgs a national championship.
Who saw that coming? The Mailman really is tougher than s—.
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