Father of Stetson Bennett talks next steps for Georgia quarterback

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett IV went from Bulldogs walk-on to program legend in a span of a few years, and his unlikely journey culminated in a 33-18 victory over Alabama on Monday, snapping the university’s 41-year national championship drought.

The Bulldogs’ national title will be celebrated in a packed Sanford Stadium on Saturday, and so too will Bennett’s heroics. But when the celebration ends, Bennett — who played his final high school football game at Pierce County in 2016 — will be faced with a tough decision: what’s next?

Bennett, 24, will turn 25 in October. Thanks to a redshirt season in 2017 and an extra year of eligibility from the COVID-19 blanket waiver in 2020, he’ll still have one year of eligibility heading into 2022. Bennett grew up in Georgia as a die-hard Bulldogs fan, and despite of the fact that his father, Stetson Bennett III, has been a season-ticket holder his whole life, the family sidestepped questions regarding a potential return to the program.

“The kid loves the game, loves the University of Georgia but nobody could love what he went through this year,” his father said, via DawgNation. “Nobody. Man, it was really bad. … I never dreamed that it could be as bad as it was on a 14-1 national championship team.”

Bennett first came on for Georgia after the season-opening starter, JT Daniels — a USC transfer that first assumed Georgia’s starting quarterback role in 2020 — suffered a core injury, and Bennett did the unthinkable. But along the way, as his father noted, there were some rough patches; notably, a turnover-ridden, 41-24 loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship game, a performance after which many questioned both Bennett’s abilities and Kirby Smart’s decision to not turn back to Daniels.

“What I’ve learned the last few months is that as many opinions there are out there there will be that many posts,” his father continued. “Nobody respects anybody. Anybody’s feelings. It is not their journey so it really doesn’t matter. It is really a sad state we have all gotten to here.”

After all that Bennett’s been through, the national championship, Georgia’s first since 1980, just meant more. In the game’s waning minutes, the cameras caught Bennett in tears on the sidelines.

“Seeing Stet cry the morning after and getting to hug his neck the night of were really really special moments,” his father said. “He never cries. First time in years and years and years. But I knew the hurt and the pain and the road he has traveled. Just all of it.”

Bennett finished the season with a 64.5 percent completion rate, good for 2,862 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Meanwhile, a dual-threat quarterback, he rushed for over 250 yards and a touchdown. Still, his father was hesitant to give a clear-cut answer on his future; moreover, he avoided even providing a timeline on a decision.

“I don’t know,” his father said, when asked whether Bennett might make a decision within the next two weeks. “He’s supposed to call me this afternoon. We’re going to talk, but probably not about that. I am going to see him this weekend obviously. I don’t know what. He knows more about the situation than I do clearly.”

Bennett’s father said that he knows more about the situation, but as of Tuesday, just a day after the national title win, Bennett seemed to know little, if anything, about what his future holds. In a television appearance on Good Morning America, Bennett said that he hopes to go to law school, and he wants to play football in grad school. As for where, however, he simply said “we’ll see,” noting that he has to discuss the situation with the Bulldogs coaching staff.

“I think he will process everything if you watch him whether it is an interview or whatever else,” his father said. “On the field, he processes data very rapidly. But in life, he’s going to take it all in, assess it and whether it is a NIL deal or you’ve got one more year. Whether it is are you going to play? Or where are you going to play? He’s going to take all of it in and then make the decision.”