Who Is Stetson Bennett? All About the Former College Quarterback Now on the Los Angeles Rams

In January 2022, Stetson Bennett helped lead his team to a long-awaited victory during the College Football Playoff National Championship.

The University of Georgia (UGA) quarterback, then 23 years old, and his teammates beat Alabama 33-18 at Lucas Oil Stadium, where Georgia finally won a national title after 41 seasons without one.

“Did I cry? Yes,” Bennett said at the time as he exited the media room after the historic game, according to ESPN. “I don’t think I’ve cried in years, but I couldn’t help it tonight. And I don’t think I’ve stopped crying yet. No way.”

Bennett, who proved to be a hero during the 2022 championship, went on to do it again the following year — leading the University of Georgia Bulldogs to a 67-7 victory over the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs in January 2023.

A few months later, he was drafted into the NFL, though it was an unconventional path to victory — and then a misstep with an arrest and an extended absence from his pro team (via Sports news).

So who is Stetson Bennett? Here’s everything there is to know about the former UGA star turned Rams quarterback.

It was passable

Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller makes history in 2020 as first woman to play in Power 5 College Football game

While Bennett was the hero of two College Football Playoff national championships, he was originally a redshirt freshman in 2017, according to CBS Sports. Although Bennett was a valuable asset to his high school football team — playing in three state playoff games and throwing for 3,724 yards — ESPN reported that he received one FBS scholarship from Middle Tennessee State.

Former Georgia running back Aaron Murray told CBS that his teammate was told “his entire career” that he “wasn’t good enough.”

Speaking to reporters in January 2022, Bennett said, “I’ve been telling you all along, and I think some people may not have believed me, that I really don’t hear any of that, social media and whatever, I really don’t,” according to ESPN .

He added: “Our goal was to do what we did. We did it. Some of the things someone said about me on the internet is not going to change that.”

He grew up in Georgia

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Bennett is from Blackshear, Ga., and both of his parents also attended the University of Georgia, according to the Georgia Bulldogs website. According to ESPN, the football star has dreamed of playing for the Bulldogs since childhood.

When he was younger, ESPN noted that he attended games in Athens, Ga., and “ran around his yard with a football under his arm draped in a UGA jersey.”

He transferred schools before returning to Georgia

While Bennett started college at UGA, he transferred schools in 2018 after one season with the Bulldogs. At Jones College in Ellisville, Miss., he threw for 1,840 yards with 16 touchdowns, according to ESPN.

Just before he was set to leave Jones College and sign with the University of Louisiana, Bennett was invited back to Georgia, where he agreed to return on one condition, according to ESPN: “This time it has to be different.”

Bennett returned to his home state in 2019 and played the rest of his college career as a Bulldog.

He used a flip phone for a while in college – seriously

Former Georgia linebacker Quay Walker — a college teammate of Bennett’s who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2022 — told 11Alive sports reporter Maria Martin in January 2022, “Stetson Bennett has a flip phone. I don’t think he cares too much about looks noise.”

Martin shared on Twitter (now known as X) on January 5th of that same year, “By the way, Stetson Bennett has had a flip phone since the summer. Yes, this is his only phone. No, it wasn’t BECAUSE of anything other than he thought he was talking on the phone too much . Seriously. He wanted to be more present, so he got a flip phone this summer.”

Aaron Murray, the former Georgia running back, told CBS Sports that the phone helps Bennett focus on football.

“Obviously he’s such a pain in the ass at texting. He’ll say, ‘Dude, I’m going to tell you right now that I stink at texting. If you need to get in touch with me, just call me’ … He’s right. He has to be focused on football and the game,” Murray said.

The flip phone’s existence was short-lived in the long run, however, according to Bennett said Seth Emerson of The Athletic March 2022 to no longer use the device.

In college, he was an older football player than several active NFL players at the time

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Sporting News reported in January 2023 that Bennett was 25 years old during his final season with the Georgia Bulldogs — which was the same or older than players who have played multiple seasons as rookies in the NFL, including running backs Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers) and Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins), among others.

Bennett was still able to play college football because in 2020 the NCAA allowed an extra year of eligibility for players due to the COVID-19 pandemic on top of the previously existing rule that college football players had a five-year window to complete their four seasons of eligibility, the division noted.

All of that meant Bennett ended up playing six seasons in college, with five years playing through NCAA eligibility and a season of junior college play, according to Sports News in 2023.

He was arrested for public intoxication days after his second college football championship

A week after leading the Georgia Bulldogs to their second straight national championship, Bennett was arrested in Dallas on January 15, 2023 and charged with public intoxication.

At the 2023 NFL Combine in March — a scouting event for “the top college players eligible for the draft based on various medical, mental and physical criteria” — Bennett spoke publicly for the first time about the arrest, calling it the result of a “mistake .”

According to Sports IllustratedBennett felt like he had let his family down and apologized to them for his actions.

“Even without all of this, I have an obligation,” Bennett said. “I’m fourth [Stetson Bennett]. You can’t do that if your last name is Bennett. I know better.”

He was drafted to the Los Angeles Rams in April 2023

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During the 2023 NFL Draft, Bennett was selected in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Rams — the team’s first running back since 2016 (via 11Alive).

Nick Shook, a writer for Around the NFL magazine, called Bennett a “polarizing prospect,” citing the young QB’s January 2023 arrest and reputation for confidence with his two-time national championship win for Georgia.

Chosen to back up Rams starter Matthew Stafford, Bennett praised the veteran, saying Los Angeles Times“[Stafford’s] one of the most talented backs to ever play the game.”

The soon-to-be rookie then added, “I’m excited to just go in there, be quiet, take notes and study.”

Bennett was removed from the Rams’ active roster in September 2023

At the start of the 2023–24 NFL season, Bennett was placed on the Rams’ reserve/non-football injured list, although there was no official word on why.

Rams head coach Sean McVay was tight-lipped about protecting his player, telling reporters on Sept. 13, 2023, per 11Alive, “Out of respect for [Bennett] and the situation, I’ll leave all the details at home.”

Although Bennett was not seen on the field during regular season play — and is unlikely to return to the active roster this season — Sports Illustrated’s Ram Digest reported that he made a public appearance at the November 2023 Georgia Bulldogs game in Athens, Ga., against the Ole Miss Rebels, where he was honored with the Burlsworth Trophy.

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Source: HIS Education