Emphatic, fun and stress-free: A fitting end for Stetson Bennett

Covering a big-time College Football program like Georgia opens all sorts of doors that lead to new experiences. That has never been more true than a trip from Athens to Atlanta to San Diego to Los Angeles and so many places that surround the City of Angels.

The West Coast visit included a sunrise in San Diego, sunsets in Venice Beach and Carlsbad, and a chance to rub elbows with some of the hardest-working people in the business. But the best thing I saw while I was in The Golden State didn’t become so until I got back home.

After a redeye that took off at 10:30 p.m. PT and landed at 5:09 a.m. ET, it was time to get back to the office and rewatch the game for the first time. That’s when I learned that I was watching Stetson Bennett slice and dice TCU’s defense while having a great deal of fun in the process.

A more fitting end to The Mailman’s Georgia career is borderline impossible. For a guy who needed five years to settle in and begin the football season as the starting quarterback, that’s how it was supposed to go.

It’s not hard to find a sticking point in Bennett’s story. Many marvel at the fact that he was a walk-on. I get it. It’s awesome. Others point to how he left and came back and that, too, is something you rarely see.

Then there’s the fact that Georgia brought in two transfers to play over him, pushing him deeper into the afterthought closet. None of it worked out. Like iron exposed to moisture, all of those plans broke down.

Because of an elite defense and Bennett being at his best in the biggest moment, a busted plan turned into a National Championship in 2021. J.T. Daniels didn’t work out. Carson Beck wasn’t quite ready to be the No. 2 quarterback and here came Bennett, much like the year before, seemingly winging it. Giving it his all, making some mistakes, and trying to prove that he belongs.

A more enjoyable experience in 2022…

Just observing Bennett, it didn’t look all that appealing. He gave the look of a guy who was locked in at all times. There were times when he pressed and there were times when he cut loose and went as far as to smile or gesture.

We all saw a different Stetson in 2022. Whether it was getting the monkey of his and the program’s back with the National Championship or a real offseason as the starter, one that included first-team reps and other preparation, he was more loose. He had more fun.

In regards to that fun and swagger, the dial was turned all the way to the right on Monday night. Bennett’s full competitive personality was on display and he was enjoying it to a level that few players ever get the opportunity.

That’s the way it should have been. He earned that. After the insults, the doubts and the calls for him to ride off into the sunset so the Georgia program could move on, most coming from those who are supposed to have his back, he deserved the 47-minute curtain call that he got.

Did Bennett see it before anyone else?

One might say that this season, a second National Championship in as many years, was Bennett’s vision before anyone else.

“I’m going to tell you another important date was about three days from right now last year when he came in my office and he said, I’m trying to decide if I’m going to come back or ride off in the wind,” Kirby Smart said after Monday’s game. “I don’t understand everybody’s telling me I should just ride off into the sunset be the legendary quarterback who won a national title. He said, that’s just not who I am I am.

“He’s, like, I don’t get it. Why should I do that when I have an opportunity to play again? Why don’t we go win it again? And I’m kind of thinking, well, that would be nice but we lost 15 draft picks. Might not be that easy this time. And he had full conviction that he wanted to come back and go opposite of the mainstream.”

Some who wanted Bennett to ride off into that sunset felt that way because they didn’t want it to end badly. They didn’t want his legacy to be tarnished with a potentially frustrating year due to replacing so many parts.

That prospect didn’t rattle the Blackshear, Ga. native. He had helped his team win it once. He knew he could be better and he was.

Good on you, Stetson Bennett…

I don’t need to list the accomplishments. We all know those and — gut feeling here — Bennett will get past the College Football Hall of Fame’s All-American requirement. He’ll get in eventually and probably sooner rather than later.

But what made me happier for Stetson Bennett than anything else was the fact that he did not show up for the winner’s press conference on Tuesday. No one wanted to be there — no player, no coach, no College Football Playoff staffer, no member of the media.

Bennett, for the first time in a long time, didn’t have to be there and for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t there. He was celebrating. He got a jump start on that whole sunset thing. I don’t know who it bothered, but not me. Good for him.