The Stetson Bennett IV story is one of the best you or I will ever see again. It all started out with the small walk-on who got a chance to play. Then it turned into the QB who won Back-to-Back National championships. A story fit for a movie, literally ended in Hollywood.
Bennett was brash and brazen. Many loved him, some didn’t. They didn’t like the way he acted at a parade held for his hard work. That’s another blog for another day. Anything brought up about Stetson has been a hot-button issue for Georgia fans.
Many in the national media said Stetson Bennett is deserving of a statue. While I agree with them, the University of Georgia does not make statues of Football players. Ask Herschel. The only statues around campus are Abraham Baldwin, the founder of the university, and Vince Dooley. That is it.
If the University of Georgia does make a statue in your honor, you are the rarest of people to walk on that campus. The highest honor a player can receive is having their number retired. There are very few that have received the honor.
In fact, there are only four guys who have their numbers retired. Frank Sinkwich #21, Charley Trippi #62, Theron Sapp #40, and of course Herschel Walker #34. Only 4 retired numbers, 2 of them won the Heisman, and the other Trippi, got screwed out of one by Yankee snobs.
Fran Tarleton, who is probably the best Georgia QB ever (up till Stetson) if you take his entire collegiate and professional careers together, does not have his number retired.
So why Stetson? He didn’t win the Heisman, he wasn’t the biggest star Georgia had. So why? Because he symbolizes something. He symbolizes the underdog, the guy who was never supposed to be in the spot he was in. His number 13 should be the 5th number to be retired because of his symbolic meaning to the University.
His career at Georgia will end up being a movie, so why not give him the honor of being up there with some of the greatest Georgia players ever? Oh, the two National Title “MVP”’ awards don’t hurt either. Stetson is probably on Georgia’s Mount Rushmore now. If you would have told me that in 2020 I would laugh in your face. But here we are.
Stetson Bennett IV deserves to have his number retired!