Sometimes an underdog story comes right out of the chalk. Sometimes Cinderella and her abstruse magic shines not for a group that wasn’t expected to accomplishment, however for an specific who impossibly endedupbeing part of the group that was.
Sometimes, there’s a man like Stetson Bennett IV, otherthan that there isn’t truly, not precisely like him anyhow, not when this young male of simple quality had to be a footballing miracle-worker simply to endedupbeing Georgia’s quarterback, neverever mind whatever he’s done giventhat.
What he’s done is to spin 2 straight nationwide champions for a Bulldogs program that hadn’t declared one in 4 years, the 2nd gettinghere on Monday night courtesy of an outright whupping of TCU, 65-7.
It’s the sort of success that generally leads to wide-scale copycatting, however that won’t takeplace in Bennett’s case. He’s too uncommon, the course too homespun and hinged on old school worths for that. He is the outlier of outliers, the throwback of all throwbacks in these quickly altering times of NIL, and the portal, and growth.
It was TCU, the Big 12 upstart, that was expected to be the season’s Cinderella, coming in as a large underdog after 12 wins, a single blip, then a semifinal success over Michigan.
Sorry Sonny Dykes, worth gamblers, SEC-haters, Max Duggan and neutral romantics, that wasn’t going to be. Bennett wasn’t going to enable it.
And while the night took on the feel of a undaunted round of bullying, the teensiest bit hard to watch at times, the designer of the shellacking was a gamer whose path to college football’s mostsignificant videogame was from method, method beyond the boondocks. Too out there for a possible script. Like Rudy if Rudy had played every videogame, been a Heisman finalist and yeah, won a set of champions.
You mostlikely understand the Bennett story by now, however it’s the kind of tale that doesn’t get old, even as Bennett gets older, favorably ancient for an elite college QB at25 He wasn’t a chosen alternative for significant programs, the just deal coming from Middle Tennessee, so, duetothefactthat he is from Blackshear, Ga., and liked Georgia and just ever desired to play for Georgia, he strolled on in Athens.
Kirby Smart liked what he saw from his mindset and spirit and enjoyed how well he mimicked Baker Mayfield for the scout group, however that wasn’t going to stop the head coach from bringing in a star, Justin Fields for the 2018 season, so Bennett headed to Jones County Junior College – in Ellisville, Miss. – to get some playing time.
He did well there, and that’s when things began to get unusual. He moved back to Georgia (who does that?) waited his turn, beat out a variety of luxury hires and got the task in 2021.
He understood how much he enjoyed Bulldog life however likewise found that he liked winning enough to keep doing it for as long as he potentially could. Including this project, as a sixth-year senior born in the exactsame year as Lamar Jackson, and simply a couple of months older than Kyler Murray, who now have 9 years integrated NFL experience inbetween them.
Those men may quickly make close to $100 million a year inbetween them and there is no viewed possibility Bennett will signupwith them at that lofty level. What he does have, stowedaway in his memory permanently, is belongings of a college profession straight from his dreams, an outrageous dream that insomeway came real.
It ended with a timeout called for one function just, to offer him a drape call with 13: 25 staying in the 4th quarter, after a outofbreath night of 4 tossed goals and 2 more with his feet.
Everything he did worked. His tosses were laser-guided, his vision totally in tune, his legs swift and spritely.
The factor Bennett did what he did, not simply at SoFi Stadium, however throughout his profession, is since his biggest characteristic is an capability to win, and there’s no requirement to dissect it much more than that. There are larger, morepowerful, faster and more greatly biceped men, plus some whose tossing variety will provide itself far muchbetter to Sunday football.
Georgia, now certainly the sport’s present leviathan, didn’t desire anybody else.
They desired Bennett’s effort level, his relentlessness, his workflow, his heart, his “glue-guy” management, his enthusiasm for the program and his infectious interest, so eager to be included in whatever that he was likewise the group’s holder.
Back to the copycatting; simply forget about it. Loyalty and love puton’t run this deep anylonger. When people wear’t play, they leave. When they leave, they puton’t come back. When they win, primarily, they leave for a payday.
Bennett wasn’t like that. Don’t go looking for a clone for your group. They puton’t exist.
The joke going around, and no one is rather sure if it is a joke or not, is that Bennett, faster or lateron, is going to own one or anumberof Georgia vehicle cardealerships. Before then, he might job as an NFL backup. He may, it’s possible, have played his last videogame of football.
He’s not Justin Herbert – he’s older than him anyhow. He’s not going to be talked about like Bryce Young when the draft comes around.
His time is now. His story is his, and his just. It is one to be takenpleasurein, not because it is the start of a pattern, however specifically because it is not.
Martin Rogers is a writer for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the day-to-day newsletter.
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