Urban Meyer is out of the college football coaching ranks but he saw enough of Stetson Bennett IV to know he deserves more credit.
As a walk-on, Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett IV is familiar with having to work for every opportunity. The 25-year-old is coming off back-to-back national championships under Kirby Smart in Athens, yet is projected to only be a backup in the NFL.
At 25 years old, Bennett will be entering the NFL older than Justin Fields, Trey Lance, and Justin Herbert, among others. Is age really a factor in the draft process? Yes, but even entering the league as an older prospect, a franchise could still get valuable years from him. More importantly, though, Bennett’s talent continues to be underrated.
On the All Things Covered podcast Urban Meyer stated that he saw Bennett for the first time and was surprised that he was the quarterback because of his size. Listed at 5-foot-11, his height is another factor that will affect his draft stock. Of course, the height hasn’t been an issue. However, Meyer’s first impression was quickly proven wrong and, now, the national-championship-winning former head coach is a fan.
Urban Meyer calls Stetson Bennett IV the most underrated CFB ever
Talking about Georgia losing their quarterback while looking ahead to the 2023 college football season in the same podcast appearance, Meyer had an unprompted aside on Bennett, saying, “Stetson Bennett is the most underrated player, I think, that’s ever played the game.”
“He’s a monster,” Meyer continued. “His leadership, his toughness, it’s incredible.”
It’s hard to argue with Bennett’s credentials, even compared to the quarterbacks in the NFL who he’s older than. He’s a two-time national champion, winning in back-to-back seasons. He’s also coming off of a season in which he had the fourth-highest QBR in college football and threw for more than 4,000 yards while playing in the vaunted SEC.
There’s a reason that Urban Meyer is as big of a fan as he is of Stetson Bennett IV. And it feels like a matter of time before NFL teams and fans begin to agree as well.
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