Stetson Bennett finally focused again on football, getting right with AD Mitchell
NEW YORK — Time to get back to football for Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett. After being paraded around the country from Arkansas to New York and seemingly everywhere in between for awards ceremonies, he finally gets to run his attention back to the reason he was there: his success – both individual and team – on the field. In order to continue that in the College Football Playoffs, there’s one thing he knows has to happen.
“Me and 5 got to get back,” Bennett said on Saturday at the Heisman Trophy ceremony when asked about one of his favorite targets, wide receiver AD Mitchell. “We have to get back to being us. That starts whenever I get back on Monday. We’re worried about practice now, not playoff. We’ll get to that later.”
Mitchell made his long-awaited return from a nagging ankle injury in Georgia’s SEC Championship Game victory over LSU. He suffered a high-ankle sprain on the first play of the Samford game in Week Two, and while he did manage to play four plays against Auburn about a month later, the last time fans saw a full speed version of Mitchell prior to the SEC Championship was in the same Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the season-opener against Oregon. They certainly hope to see that same version of him there again later this month.
Asked further about his preparation for the Playoffs and progress he’s made in the week since Georgia was announced as the No. 1 seed last Sunday, Bennett said that he’s started to look at Ohio State some. He hasn’t however had enough of an opportunity to dive in deep enough to make comparisons between the Buckeyes and other teams that the Bulldogs have played this season. That’s something that, like his connection with Mitchell, will only come with time.
“The further we are away from the game, I let it happen. I try to think about it all because I can catch up on sleep or whatever later in the week,” Bennett said when asked how much he thinks about football and upcoming games when away from the facility. “The closer it gets to the game I shut it off because I trust what Coach Smart says. “Sleep through the storm, during the winter, when it’s rough because you’ve prepared for the rough times when it’s good times.'”
“I don’t think it’s so much about programs, I think it’s more about scheme. Do they play similar to what we’ve seen?,” he continued when speaking about his preparation process and film breakdown of opponents. “Think about Oregon. We hadn’t really played them that often, but we were familiar with the scheme. We knew what it looked like, and we played well that game. So it’ll be about the scheme. They do have some funky things from what I’ve watched. I haven’t watched a ton yet, but there’s some things that stand out and I’m like, ‘Alright, that’s different.’ But when you get out there and it’s different, and you’re unsure, that’s when it’s like, ‘Ah, you know.'”
Georgia and Ohio State square off in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in what’s just the second all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Buckeyes. UGA players wrap up final exams this week before having over two full weeks with nothing to worry about but football, including about a week on-site in Atlanta. Kickoff time from Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 31st is set for 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe on the call.
