Everything Stetson Bennett Said About Georgia's National Championship Game

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Los Angeles, CA - Georgia Bulldog quarterback Stetson Bennett spoke with reporters about their big CFP National Championship game against TCU on Monday night.

Q. Stetson, you were pretty outward bound to how you played last week. Kirby was too. (Inaudible) What do you take from it?

STETSON BENNETT: You know, I think I started off the game pretty well. Finished it pretty well. There was a little period in the middle I would like to have some things back, but that's football, and they're a really good team.

You know, they're going to coach you to make mistakes sometimes. So just work to fix that.

Q. What's the difference between preparation, feeling in your stomach this time around in this National Championship game?

STETSON BENNETT: I think the preparation is the same thing. Just day-by-day watch film, keep practicing, respect who TCU is, and just get ready for it.

Q. Stetson, obviously you grew up a fan. (Inaudible) from the outside it seemed like it was a fan base that felt like it was getting so close and getting over the hump. What has it meant to you to help get the program to this spot on this stage (inaudible)?

STETSON BENNETT: Yeah, it's funny. You know, it's hard to be a fan while you're in it. I remember when I went into JUCO in 2018. I was so much more fan -- it hurt whenever they lost to LSU like it did when I was a kid again.

While I'm here, it's hard. I do have just an immense amount of respect for Coach Smart, all the guys who are on this team go to work every single day. You sweat together. You bleed together. And it is to create a

program that's like this. Extremely proud of that. Proud to be a part of it.

Q. The fact that this is going to be your final college game. I know you talked about it before, but does it make it a little bit easier to really put extra in on this point?

STETSON BENNETT: I think it's the National Championship. Regardless if I had years left or, you know -- I don't, but it's the National Championship. It's the last one of the year. It's the big one. It's why we were doing this winter workout so hard. It's what we dreamed about it when we were kids. I don't think really me leaving has anything to do with how hard I'm preparing.

Q. You've had some stories over the past few years. One, I heard that you quarantined on a cruise ship. (Inaudible). The milk man. The milk man in. I wanted to ask you about when you did that and how much fun that was for you?

STETSON BENNETT: No, I wasn't on a cruise ship. We did have some guys who were. Mr. Ron was freaking out before we left because it was about to hit. We didn't know how hard it was going to hit, but when we were going to spring break, he said be smart. Maybe not a cruise. I didn't go on a cruise, but...

And then the milk man thing was fun. There was a whole production crew. The director was awesome. All the people on set were awesome. That was really one of the most fun NIL things that I've done.

Q. I have a hypothetical. If 2021 doesn't happen or even (inaudible), are you second year student right now somewhere?

STETSON BENNETT: Oh, if I was, I would probably be a little sad, but no, probably not. I probably would have left and went somewhere else. Who is to say what would happen, but I probably wouldn't be a law student yet.
Might be on the way, though. Might be getting there, yeah.

STETSON BENNETT: I think it speaks to our culture more than anything because that's what builds lasting things is the culture and the work that we put in on a daily basis 365 days a year.

It's hard. It's harder to build a program that can last than to build one for a year. So it takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of commitment, it takes a lot of sacrifice, which I think this team has done a really great job of doing.

Q. How surprised are you that your opponent in the title game is TCU, and they've been fairly off the radar?

STETSON BENNETT: No. You know, I really -- we were all worried about what we were going to do at the beginning of the year. I really didn't know how good any team in the country was going to be until we played them that week really because we were focused on who we are as a team, focused on us getting better, and then whoever we were playing that week, then we would move on to them.

In our building it's always been it's about us. We prepare, and then we go -- we play the opponent that week.

Q. (Inaudible) -- back-to-back National Championships? What has the story been like for you?

STETSON BENNETT: It's been a little surreal. I don't know. It's hard to look at it in its whole entirety. It's a lot easier to break off bite-sized chunks. That's how it all happened. Just day-by-day.

None of it was -- it was planned, but not really. Just do the best that you can each day, and then hopefully that puts you in a position to be somewhere cool one day.

Q. Talking about TCU, what jumps out to you about their team? (Inaudible)

STETSON BENNETT: I think the first thing that jumps out is how passionately they play and the team speed. They're really fast, and they're physical.

They've got a lot of pride. Michigan was talking crap, and they came out and had a bone to pick with the run. You know, they're a really physical team, really fast, and then Max is the heart and soul of that whole team. Met him up in New York. He is a great dude, and he is a great football player.

He runs when he wants -- when he needs to run, but he can throw it. He can throw it all over the board, and he has a great receiver too. So it's going to be a good game.

Q. So as somebody who (inaudible) and someone who has covered sports for a long time as well, what have you learned about -- what did you learn about yourself and you as a player being away from the Division I game and coming back --

STETSON BENNETT: I think it was really important for me to go be the guy somewhere again. Playing football is pretty much the only way you can get better at playing football, right? So to go be in that position where you are the starter, it comes down to you in certain situations. That taught me a lot.

And fighting for a championship over there. You know, we didn't end up winning it, but that -- it always teaches you something.