From walk-on to Orange Bowl MVP: Quarterback leads Georgia to national championship game
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Full coverage of Orange Bowl 2021
The Georgia Bulldogs outplayed the Michigan Wolverines in their 34-11 College Football Playoff semifinal win in the Orange Bowl on Friday in front of a Michigan-heavy crowd of 66,839 at Hard Rock Stadium.
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Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett began his college football career in 2017 as an unheralded walk-on — before transferring the next season to a junior college.
He ended the next-to-last game of his fifth college season as the Most Outstanding Player on offense in a 34-11 Bulldogs victory over Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl.
Bennett, a 5-11, 190-pound senior who earned a scholarship in 2019 after transferring back to Georgia from Jones College in Ellisville, Mississippi, finished 21 of 31 (68 percent) for 307 yards and three touchdowns Friday night in front of 66,839 at Hard Rock Stadium. He added 32 yards on three carries.
Meanwhile, former five-star Gatorade National Player of the Year JT Daniels sat on the bench, his early-season injury buoying Bennett, who has started 10 consecutive games and will undoubtedly do so against Alabama in the national title game Jan. 10.
Bennett was asked if he “could have imagined this moment five years ago.’’
“No,’’ said Bennett, one of three finalists for the 2021 Burlsworth Trophy, presented to the nation’s most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on. “Every day from then until now you just go about your business and put your best foot forward, and hopefully — you can’t predict the future — something works out.’’
Bennett is eligible to return to Georgia (13-1) for one more season if he chooses because of the extra year afforded by the NCAA in light of the pandemic. One thing he won’t do is let the outside noise be a distraction.
Outside noise
“Like I’ve said before,’’ Bennett said leading into the game, “if you listen to them when they’re telling you how good [you] are, then you’re going to listen to them when they tell you how bad you are. I don’t really care what anybody else says. My job is to go out every single day, build chemistry with these guys, watch film enough to be prepared for when the game comes, and that’s the only thing I’m worried about. You can’t put any value on people who really have no clue what they’re talking about.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said his quarterback “performed at a really high level’’ Friday. “He’s been really focused the last couple weeks. It’s amazing to have a guy his age block out all the noise and just focus harder. ...Just really proud of the way he prepped for this game.’’
Added Bennett: “I came out there and played well and worked hard throughout the few weeks we had off because my teammates needed me to do that, and we needed that to win.’’
Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken kept it brief when he was asked earlier in the week why Bennett stayed the starter after Daniels returned from injury several weeks ago.
‘Best chance to win’
“First off, the reason Stetson Bennett plays is we think he gives us the best chance to win,’’ Monken said. “Without getting into too much detail... that’s really the end of that question.’’
But Monken went on to say that at times he “probably undervalued” Bennett’s “skill set.”
“We’ve tried to elevate guys that have talent on our roster,’’ Monken said, “and we do that at every position. Some guys just combat and fight and scratch and continue to play well and try to prove you wrong, and that’s what Stetson Bennett did.’’
Bennett came into Friday’s game ranked fourth nationally in passing efficiency (176.8), fourth in yards-per-completion (15.71) and second in yards-per-pass-attempt (10.06). For the season, he has completed 169 of 262 passes (64.5 percent) for 2,632 yards and 27 touchdowns, with seven interceptions.
He’s obviously pumped for the rematch against Alabama, which gave Georgia its only loss this season in the SEC title game.
“...We wear the G with pride. For us to come together after all the hours and off-season work and fall camp and just the grind of the season and be able to give ourselves a chance to go to a national championship, it’s pretty special.’’
Kendrick stars on defense
Georgia cornerback Derion Kendrick, who transferred to the Bulldogs this season from Clemson, had two interceptions Friday to earn Most Outstanding Player on defense.
“Last year I just had to keep my head up, keep grinding,’’ said Kendrick, a senior from Rock Hill, South Carolina, who also had five tackles. He tossed oranges to his teammates after a post-game, on-field interview with ESPN broadcaster Rece Davis. “God put me in this spot, University of Georgia gave me a chance, and I just put my head down and kept working, and this is what it led to.’’
This story was originally published January 1, 2022 at 12:45 AM.
