Georgia football: Why Stetson Bennett is the perfect third-string quarterback
Georgia football has two solid options at quarterback for 2018 and 2019. But what’s the plan if Jake Fromm and Justin Fields both get injured?
Times sure have changed in college football. Less than a decade ago, the third-string quarterback could be a kid expecting to inherit the starting job after the two guys ahead of him left school. But nowadays, quarterbacks are leaving if they aren’t at least the backup.
This has radically changed the way teams think of quarterback depth. What do coaches want out of a third-string quarterback in 2018? You can’t expect a blue chip recruit to settle for third-string as a freshman or sophomore anymore. But you still want the third-stringer to be more than the scout team quarterback.
Well Georgia football might just have the answer to that question with Stetson Bennett IV. What makes Bennett the perfect third-string quarterback? In a word; freedom. He’s not a pocket passer like Jacob Eason, a balanced QB like Jake Fromm, or a mobile QB like Justin Fields.
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He’s an old-fashioned, “catch me if you can” scrambler with a good enough arm to make you pay for chasing him. In the unfortunate case that both Fromm and Fields get injured, are Kirby Smart and Jim Cheney going to bottle him up and keep him in the system? No way. He’s not the guy needed for the system. They’re going to let Bennett play his game.
His skill set is very similar to Johnny Manziel, Doug Flutie and Georgia’s own Fran Tarkenton. I’m not saying he’s as good as those three, he clearly isn’t. But he has their skills. He’ll be difficult for defenses to deal with. Bennett, like those great scramblers, is too unpredictable to rely on film study.
He wouldn’t lead Georgia to any championships. But he could probably help produce a few more victories than most other third-string quarterbacks around the nation could. And he’d be fun to watch while doing so.
Until he enters a game though, the perfect third-stringer will continue to serve as the perfect scout team quarterback. That’s a role where he already uses his skills. He does a great job replicating other scrambling, mobile and option quarterbacks.
He earned one of the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year awards in large part because of his replication of Georgia Tech’s triple option. And he likely played a big role in Georgia’s ability to shut down Jalen Hurts in the National Championship Game.
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Hopefully we never have to see Bennett appear in a game. But if we do, I feel confident in his ability to at least put on a great show. To me he’s the best scout team quarterback you could ask for. He’s the perfect third option at the position in 2018. I just hope the rest of the Bulldog nation can make him the most appreciated third-stringer in the nation.