Stetson Bennett explains his reaction to Darnell Washington's first touchdown

Georgia has made a living utilizing its mismatch tight ends on offense all season long, so quarterback Stetson Bennett IV was a little surprised when one question popped up in his post-game scrum with reporters following a 45-19 win over Mississippi State: How did it feel getting Darnell Washington his first touchdown of the season?

The mammoth tight end had caught passes in eight of nine games prior to Saturday’s stomping of the Bulldogs but hadn’t hit pay dirt yet in 2022.

“I didn’t know that was his first touchdown because it makes no sense to me that that should be his first touchdown,” Bennett said.

Washington had logged 19 catches for 332 yards this season prior to Saturday’s soirée in Starkville.

Then he put together arguably his best game of the season, catching a season-high five passes for 60 yards… and that first touchdown catch. Bennett was thrilled he was able to get Washington involved in the team’s seemingly constant end zone parties.

“Yeah, dude’s unbelievable. I mean he’s a mismatch everywhere,” Bennett said. “He weighs whatever he weighs, he’s like 6-8, 6-7, can run like we run, the little dudes, and can catch like the little dudes. But he’s 6-7, 280 so you can’t cover him with a DB. He’s unbelievable.”

Darnell Washington’s first touchdown only one highlight for Kirby Smart

While Darnell Washington’s first touchdown on Saturday was certainly worthy of celebration, it was actually another play coach Kirby Smart really praised the massive tight end for after the game.

That was his work on a 70-yard touchdown run for receiver Ladd McConkey.

“Tremendous job offensively to get the ball in the second half,” Smart said postgame. “We thought that would define the second half, to take the crowd out of it if we could get some momentum back.

“We lost momentum in the first half at the end of it, but a tremendous job by Darnell Washington, just elite perimeter blocking. Ladd breaks one tackle, Rosemy has blocks downfield and Ladd outran them. It was just a great play call, a great design. It was a play that we put in this week for that look and it hit.”

That play just after halftime helped Georgia break the game open. It also showed just how valuable Washington has been this year for the defending national champions.