Stetson Bennett Makes First Comments After January Arrest
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ATHENS - Former Georgia Bulldogs QB Stetson Bennett told reporters at the NFL Combine on Friday that he made a mistake earlier this year after his public intoxication arrest in Texas.
“I understand why that can’t happen,” he said Friday morning.
Bennett was arrested in late January in Dallas while training for the combine. Police “determined (Bennett) was intoxicated” and arrested him. Police responded to a call of a “man banging on doors in the area.”
Bennett, who led the Bulldogs to back-to-back College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championships, has a well-chronicled and borderline unbelievable story. After walking on to the Georgia football team for the 2017 season, he opted to transfer to a junior college to get playing time and experience.
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Reese's Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy said Bennett, like Alabama Crimson Tide QB Bryce Young, will have to overcome size concerns at the NFL level in the upcoming draft.
“I think a lot of it is physical traits,” Nagy told ESPN’s Paul Fienbaum in February.” Stetson isn't a very big guy, and you see how picked apart Bryce Young has gotten already. Stetson is the same size (as Young) or smaller. He was a great college quarterback, and that doesn't always carry over (to the NFL). I think it is down to the physical tools part. He doesn't fit the prototype. That doesn't mean he can't play.”
Nagy added: “He can throw on the run, and he does have a pretty good arm. He is going to run in the 4.5s. There is a lot to like. He is super smart. The Georgia staff will tell you that.”
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After a successful year at Jones College in Mississippi, he returned to the Bulldogs on a scholarship, but remained an afterthought on the depth chart in 2019. In 2020, he started five of 10 games and was a solid, though unspectacular performer. In 2021, Bennett rose to the occasion and led the Bulldogs to the CFP Championship – earning Offensive MVP honors at both the CFP Semifinal and the CFP Championship. However, the recently completed 2022 season was when Bennett silenced nearly all of the critics, turning in outstanding performances all season long before raising his game to another level in the postseason, leading the Dawgs to the SEC title and another CFP title.
In three postseason games this year (the SEC Championship, CFP Semifinal, and CFP Championship), Bennett completed 64-of-88 (72.8%) passes for 976 yards and 11 touchdowns while also running for three scores and only tallying one interception. For the full season, he was 310-of-454 (68.3%) for 4,127 yards and 27 touchdowns to go with a team-best 10 rushing TDs. For his career, Bennett passed for 8,428 yards and 66 touchdowns, despite only starting for two full seasons. He ranks in the top five in Georgia history in pass completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, total offense, completion percentage, and average yards per play. Most impressively, he posted a 29-3 record as the Bulldog starting quarterback.