This may wind up being your favorite video you watch all week. I mean…former walk-on Stetson Bennett tossing a football with Eli Manning, talking him through the fourth quarter of Georgia’s national title win over Alabama. Does it get better than that?
The clip, which is part of an ESPN series called “Eli’s Places” in an episode titled “Walk-Ons,” starts by pointing out the fact that Bennett was the first walk-on quarterback ever to start in a college football national championship game.
Bennett runs Manning through the entire fourth quarter of Georgia’s 33-18 win, describing the key plays, his emotions and what he was telling his teammates on the sideline prior to Kelee Ringo’s interception.
The first walk-on QB to start a National Championship game: @StetsonIv with @GeorgiaFootball pic.twitter.com/cX14moOEqa
— Omaha Productions (@OmahaProd) September 22, 2022
Bennett walks Manning through his 40 yard touchdown pass he threw to true freshman AD Mitchell to give UGA a 19-18 lead with 8:09 on the clock.
“Dish-Jet-Red-Left-Both-Seam-Go on Tuesday” is the name of the play that turned Mitchell into a UGA legend forever.
“They (Alabama) jumped,” Bennett told Manning, recalling the play. “Cook made a great block. I knew I was going to AD. It was one-on-one, he was deep. I saw them jump and I was like ‘I’m going to my guy #5 out there.’ He went up there and made a great play.”
Along with Bennett and Ringo, AD Mitchell – a freshman – also became a Georgia legend on Monday night.
But let’s also talk about that block by James Cook. pic.twitter.com/zjpPtZWTmK
— UGA Football Live (@UGAfootballLive) January 13, 2022
But for Bennett, there was still work to do. Georgia would get the ball back at its own 38 yard line, leading 19-18, with just over seven minutes to go. Georgia ran the ball four straight times and then Alabama was called for a pass interference to move the Dawgs to the Bama 24 yard line. A seven yard run by Zamir White was followed by a two yarder from James Cook. That’s when Bennett, also known as the “Mailman,” truly delivered, completed his first pass of the drive and made it an eight point game with his 15 yard touchdown pass to Brock Bowers with 3:33 to go put Georgia up 26-18.
Brock Bowers, man. What a freshman season.
But keep an eye on Rosemy-Jacksaint. That’s why Kirby wants his wide receivers to be able to block. Beautiful. pic.twitter.com/Xwp9EYJKSF
— UGA Football Live (@UGAfootballLive) January 13, 2022
“We score on the next drive,” Bennett said, referring to the Bowers touchdown. “But they get the ball back and there’s around a minute left and it’s eight points, and you know, they have the Heisman Trophy winner (Bryce Young). So I’m making my rounds, I’m talking to the o-line. I’m saying ‘Hey, keep your mind ready because we might have to go down with 20 seconds to get a field goal to win the national championship.’
“It’s third down,” Bennett continues. “Kelee intercepts the ball. And then all the sudden, this weight I didn’t even know was on my shoulders just fell off. And I just start crying.
It was just a whirlwind, I’m giving everybody hugs, they’re hugging me. It was beautiful. I love it.”
Beautiful it was. Bennett, Ringo, Bowers, Mitchell and the rest of that 2021 national championship team will forever go down as legends in the UGA history books.
Kelee Ringo, a Georgia legend forever. pic.twitter.com/ViFG6bg14p
— UGA Football Live (@UGAfootballLive) January 11, 2022
