Last night, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett got emotional as the clock wound down for the National Championship game.
Bennett may have started out as a walk-on for the Dawgs a few years ago, per On3. But in that time, he’s turned into a National Champion who will remember this day for the rest of his life.
You can see the emotional moment for the Georgia quarterback in the video below. On the sidelines, Stetson Bennett let the tears flow as he hugged his teammates in celebration. Georgia took the lead late in the fourth quarter and never looked back. The Dawgs gave one last push to end the game 33-18, defeating longtime foes, Alabama.
During the postgame press conference, Stetson Bennett owned up to the emotional moment on the sidelines.
“Did I cry? Yes.” Bennett admitted. “I don’t think I had cried in years, but there was no holding it back tonight. And I don’t think I’m done crying yet. Not a chance.”
Bennett’s been through the wringer all year long. Many Georgia fans called for him to get benched earlier this season, according to ESPN. But he paid no attention to the critics online, focusing instead on just playing the game
“I’ve told you all along, and I think some people maybe didn’t believe me,” Bennett said post-game. “I really don’t hear any of that stuff, the social media and whatever, I really don’t. Our goal was to do what we did. We did it. Some stuff that someone said about me on the internet isn’t going to change that.”
Nor were some early game mistakes going to bog Stetson Bennett down. He went into halftime 11-of-17 for 127 yards, per ESPN. No touchdowns, but two sacks. Things didn’t improve when a major fumble at the start of the fourth quarter turned the game around.
How Stetson Bennett and the Georgia Dawgs Overcame Early Obstacles
After Stetson Bennett (supposedly) fumbled, Alabama took the lead 18-13. But it only took four more plays for Bennett to respond with a 40-yard touchdown that put Georgia ahead. And they never trailed the Crimson Tide for the rest of the game.
Bennett admitted that the fumble didn’t even factor into his approach to the rest of the game. “The fumble was not cathartic,” he said at the postgame press conference. “That was just football. I didn’t put my head down and say, ‘That’s not how we’re going to lose this game.'”
Instead, Stetson Bennett just focused on doing what he did best. And it worked out well for the former walk-on, who boasts some groundbreaking stats after winning this National Championship.
He’s the first former walk-on to defeat a Nick Saban-led team since 1997. And the first two-star recruited QB to win a National Championship. And in the last two decades, he’s the first QB not ranked in the Top 20 to win a national title. His initial rank was 104.
Now, we can only wait and see what success Bennett brings next.
