True Georgia fans can’t miss the Dawg Post newsletter – Sign up now!
Los Angeles, California – Georgia Bulldog quarterback Stetson Bennett spoke to reporters Monday night about their big CFP National Championship game against TCU.
Q Stetson, you were quite outwardly attached to how you played last week. So was Kirby. (unintelligible) What do you take from this?
STETSON BENNETT: You know, I think I started the game pretty well. Completed it pretty well. There was a little phase in the middle where I would like to have some things back, but this is football and they are a really good team.
You know, they will teach you to make mistakes sometimes. So just work on fixing that.
Q. This time, what’s the difference between preparation and gut feeling in this National Championship game?
STETSON BENNETT: I think the preparation is the same. Just watch movies every day, keep practicing, respect who TCU is and just prepare for it.
Q Stetson, you obviously grew up as a fan. (Inaudible) from the outside it seemed like it was a fandom that felt like getting so close and over the hump. What did it mean to you to help bring the program to this point on this stage (unintelligible)?
STETSON BENNETT: yes it’s funny You know, it’s hard to be a fan when you’re around. I remember when I came to JUCO in 2018. I was so much more of a fan – it hurt when they lost to LSU like it did when I was a kid.
It’s hard while I’m here. I just have immense respect for Coach Smart, all the guys that are on this team go to work every day. They sweat together. They bleed together. And there is one to create
program that is so. One is very proud of that. Proud to be part of it.
Q The fact that this will be your last college game. I know you’ve talked about this before, but does it make it a little bit easier to really get into this point?
STETSON BENNETT: I think it’s the national championship. Regardless of whether I had years left or, you know – I didn’t, but it’s the national championship. It’s the last of the year. It’s the big one. That’s why we made this winter training so hard. We dreamed of this as children. I don’t think my exit has anything to do with how hard I prepare.
Q You’ve seen quite a few stories over the past few years. Firstly, I understand you were quarantined on a cruise ship. (Incomprehensible). The milkman. The milkman in. I wanted to ask you when you did this and how much fun did you have?
STETSON BENNETT: No, I wasn’t on a cruise ship. We had some guys who were. Mr. Ron freaked out before we left because it was about to hit. We didn’t know how tough it was going to be, but when we went on spring break, he said be smart. Maybe not a cruise. I wasn’t on a cruise, but…
And then the milkman thing was funny. There was a whole production crew. The director was great. All the people on the set were great. This was honestly one of the funnest NIL things I’ve ever done.
Q I have a hypothetical. If 2021 doesn’t happen or even (unintelligible) are you a sophomore somewhere right now?
STETSON BENNETT: Oh, if it were me I’d probably be a little sad, but no, probably not. I probably would have left and gone somewhere else. Who can say what would happen, but I probably wouldn’t be a law student yet.
But it could be on the way. Might arrive, yes.
STETSON BENNETT: I think it speaks to our culture more than anything because what builds lasting things is the culture and the work we do every day, 365 days a year.
It is difficult. It’s harder to build a program that can last than one that lasts for a year. So it takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of commitment, it takes a lot of sacrifice, and I think this team did a really great job.
Q. How surprised are you that your opponent in the title game is TCU and they’ve pretty much gone off the radar?
STETSON BENNETT: no You know, I really – we were all worried about what we were going to do earlier in the year. I really didn’t know how good any team in the country was going to be until we played them that week because we focused on who we were as a team, focused on getting better and then who we were up against were playing this week, then we would move on to them.
Our building has always been about us. We prepare and then we go – we play against the opponent this week.
Q. (unintelligible) — back-to-back national championships? How was the story for you?
STETSON BENNETT: It was a little surreal. I do not know. It’s hard to look at it in its entirety. It’s much easier to break off bite-sized pieces. That’s how it all happened. Just day by day.
None of it was – it was planned, but not really. Just do the best you can each day and hopefully that will put you in a position to be somewhere cool someday.
Q. Speaking of TCU, what do you notice about your team? (Incomprehensible)
STETSON BENNETT: I think the first thing that strikes you is how passionate they are and how fast the team is. They’re really fast and they’re physical.
You have a lot of pride. Michigan was talking crap and they came out with a bone to pick with the escape. You know, they’re a really physical team, very fast, and then Max is the heart and soul of that whole team. Met him in New York. He’s a great guy and he’s a great soccer player.
He runs when he wants – when he has to run, but he can throw it. He can throw anything across the board, and he’s got a great receiver too. So it’s going to be a good game.
Q What have you learned as someone who (unintelligible) and also someone who has been involved with sports for a long time – what have you learned about yourself and you as a player in going away and coming back from the Division I game –
STETSON BENNETT: I think it was really important for me to be that guy somewhere again. Playing soccer is pretty much the only way to get better at soccer, right? So it is up to you in certain situations to go into the position where you are the starter. That taught me a lot.
And fight for a championship over there. You know, we didn’t win it in the end, but that – it always teaches you something.
