Georgia Football: Superstars on the Down Low

Georgia football in recent years has had a lot of respect. A lot of that respect comes from unsung heroes. We take a look at two of those heroes with Michael Bennet and Chris Conley.

Players come in all shapes and sizes and the way that Georgia football fans rate players can be based off of a variety of things. There are of course the players who are considered all-time greats, those who fans really can’t stand, and then there are those that fly under the radar.

Typically a player is called underrated when the plays that they make aren’t shown on a highlight reel, or they rack up their stats in silence.

Surrounding players may also cause a player to have an underrated career.

I mean think about everyone who played with Herschel Walker. There was no way that anyone else was going to be getting credit for the offense being so successful when one of the greatest running backs ever to play football was on the roster.

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An attribute that almost every underrated player has is the ability to keep their head down and keep grinding away regardless of whether what they do is getting recognized or not.

The first player that comes to my mind when the word underrated is thrown out is former UGA wide receiver, Chris Conley.

Currently, Conley plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars and formerly played for the Kansas City Chiefs.

As a Dawg, Conley reeled in 117 receptions, 1,938 receiving yards, and 20 TDs.

A quick glimpse at those stats and one might ask how a player with those numbers could be underrated.

Well, when surrounded by playmakers like Aaron Murray, Todd Gurley, and Keith Marshall, it can become easy to overlook other impactful players.

Another player that also comes to mind comes from the same time period that Conley was a part of and played the same position.

Michael Bennett was another receiver who racked up his yards and continued to make a difference every game while also staying on the down low about it.

Bennett during his time at UGA snagged 134 receptions, 1,607 receiving yards, and 17 TDs.

Another stat line that seems quite impressive and yet another player who did not get the recognition that they deserved.

Bennett would not go on to have as quite a successful career in the NFL as Conley did, but college career wise they both contributed to a crucial role in the Dawgs offense that at some points went unnoticed.

They both also, at times, had to live in the shadow of star wide receiver, Malcolm Mitchell. While their playmaking ability may have never been formally recognized, it never stopped either of these players from putting up sustainable numbers.

These are just two of the unsung heroes that Dawg fans need to remember. Some guys can be great and out of the limelight. It is how teams stay successful.

Without guys like Bennett and Conely, Georgia might not have won some if not a lot of its games. Players that make it to the field for the Dawgs should already have fans respect.

So who is a player that you feel played a superstar role but was never publicly recognized as one? What made that player underrated in your opinion?