Stetson

A story too good to not be true...

On Saturday night, the Downtown Athletic Club and the Heisman Trophy Trust will announce the winner of the Heisman Trophy. Among this year’s finalists is one of the most unlikely college football stars you’ve ever heard of.

Stetson Bennett IV started out at the University of Georgia as a walk-on quarterback. Walk-ons don’t generally get opportunities to make plays, but Stetson distinguished himself on the practice squad in 2018, mimicking Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield to help the Bulldogs prepare for the College Football Playoff semi-final game against the Oklahoma Sooners. The Dawgs won that game, going on to lose to Alabama in the final.

When Justin Fields signed with UGA that year, Stetson figured his opportunity to earn a scholarship had passed him by, so he transferred to Jones County Junior College where he played for a season.

He transferred back to Georgia the next year, and when Fields transferred to Ohio State, UGA offered Stetson a scholarship.

A succession of quarterbacks started in front of Stetson. Jake Fromm — went to the NFL Draft. D’Wan Mathis — never quite recovered from a brain cyst he suffered from the year before. J T Daniels — got injured.

Stetson finally got his chance to be the full-time starter in 2021. But he always had his doubters. Week in and week out, fans and especially the media wondered if Stetson had what it took to do the job.

People criticized his size, his decision making, every mistake he made. But the record spoke for itself. In 2021, the Bulldogs went 14-1 and won the National Championship. Stetson was the offensive MVP of the National Championship game.

So far this year, the Dawgs are 13-0 and have won the SEC Championship. Stetson was the MVP of the SEC Championship game. He also won the Burlsworth Trophy, the award for the best FBS player who began his career as a walk-on. And the Bulldogs are two games away from a repeat National Championship under Stetson’s leadership.

On Saturday night, I’ll be watching the Heisman Trophy presentation and rooting for Stetson. I’ll be cheering him on for multiple reasons. He’s a Bulldog, so naturally I’ll be hoping for him to win. I went to school with his mom, so there’s that connection for me. But I’ll also be rooting for the guy who started out as a walk-on with almost no prospect of becoming a starter.

It’s the kind of story they make movies out of, but you can’t make up something this amazing.