ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart gives a sneak peek at what to expect from quarterback Stetson Bennett on G-Day and next season.
big things. Very big things.
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Bennett and the Georgia offense will be featured on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the Bulldogs’ G-Day game being broadcast live on ESPN2.
“Really excited about the offense as a whole because I think we can be more explosive than last year,” Smart said on Friday’s Paul Finebaum Show.
“People don’t realize that when you’re in the top 10 in the country in explosive games, it’s a credit that you can run and throw the ball.”
Bennett will play quarterback for the first-team offense against a reloading first-team defense that lacks depth and experience at the secondary level.
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The player known as “The Mailman” is said to put on quite a show.
It’s possible, and maybe even likely, that Bennett will surpass the 324 yards, 3 touchdowns on passing day that former UGA quarterback and West Virginia commit JT Daniels had on G-Day last spring.
The Bulldogs have a more experienced receiving corps this year, with Ladd McConkey, AD Mitchell, Dominick Blaylock, Kearis Jackson and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint returning and LSU transfer Arik Gilbert showing up at the end.
Smart made clear his trust in Bennett, a 24-year-old sixth-year student.
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By all indications, Bennett has become a better student of the game this spring.
“The expectations of me are high because there are no more problems with forcing the ball in bad areas, making bad decisions, not having ball security and not switching to the right game,” said Smart.
“With the extra time and experience, he really got into studying that part of the game.”
Bennett, listed at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, may not be as tall as backups Carson Beck (6-4, 215) or Brock Vandagriff (6-3, 205) or have the same arm strength as the former Alabama and commit Oklahoma.
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But Smart indicated that he’s seen plenty of arm strength from the former Pierce County High School walk-on this spring, in addition to better decision-making and elimination of “bone-head” decisions.
“The most important thing now is to make decisions with the ball and not put ourselves in difficult situations,” said Smart. “I was really satisfied. He threw the ball well.
“We had an extremely windy spring, he went out and pierced the wind with great shots and made some explosive plays for us.”
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Georgia has closed all of its scrimmages and live action to the public and the media, but Smart reported that Bennett is playing the best football of his career.
“You have some talented guys out there in AD Mitchell, Ladd McConkey out there doing a lot of good things, Kenny McIntosh has made a lot of games, Kendall Milton came on this spring and a young Daijun Edwards is back,” Smart said. “You all have done a lot.
“Stetson has gained invaluable experience and we have some key components on offense, both tackles were played in the national league game because Broderick (Jones) had to go in and play during the game, those are some key cogs.”
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