Pundit thinks Stetson Bennett IV was too old to play college football (Video)

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo complained about Stetson Bennett’s age after he led Georgia to another national title. Was Bennett too old for CFB?

Stetson Bennett IV was 25 years old when he won his second consecutive national championship with Georgia on Monday night.

And people have got a problem with that apparently.

Specifically, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo committed a segment on his radio show on Tuesday morning to complain about how it was unfair for Bennett to play in the title game at that age.

Have a listen:

Was Stetson Bennett IV too old to lead Georgia?

First things first, let’s get into why Bennett had eligibility to play college football at 25 years old.

The quirks of age and schooling play a role. He turned 25 in late October, so his birth date was always going to make him on the older spectrum of students in his school year. He was 19 years old when he graduated high school in 2017 and he turned 20 during his freshman season as a walk-on at Georgia.

From there, he followed NCAA rules for college eligibility. He took a redshirt in 2017, extending his eligibility from four years to five years. Then, the NCAA extended eligibility for all players because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the 2020 college football season. That opened the door for Bennett to use a sixth season of eligibility in 2022.

Under normal circumstances, he would have run out of eligibility following his national title run in 2021. Instead, he got a chance to come back and he took it.

Bennett didn’t do anything against the rules nor did he game the system. Many players since the pandemic eligibility extension have chosen to return for a sixth year.

TCU had sixth-year players starting in that national title matchup as well, including offensive linemen Alan Ali and Wes Harris and defensive lineman Terrell Cooper.

Notre Dame transfer quarterback Sam Hartman will be 24 when he suits up for his sixth year for the Fighting Irish in the fall. There will be many more playing in 2023 while in their mid-20s.

It’s silly to act like Bennett or Georgia had an unfair advantage because of his age. College football fans should relish it when players choose to come back for their remaining eligibility because they want to win things in college football.

In any case, just wait until Russo finds out that Brandon Wheeden was 28 years old during his final season playing for Oklahoma State in 2011.