![]() ![]() ![]() … Even on film, you can see him in the background just going through and mentally preparing himself for that moment when he gets in.No dress hat beats the Stratoliner for understated character and stately presence. “Two-time, national-champion quarterback - everybody knows who he is,” receiver Van Jefferson said. And he showed talent and humility, teammates said. Like all rookies, Bennett attempted during offseason workouts to navigate a new situation and master the playbook. “Stetson obviously has … a lot of experience making big-time decisions, big-time throws in big-time games against a lot of guys that were drafted in the first and second rounds,” Clemens said. Bennett handled every situation and question, Clemens said, including when he was queried about his arrest last January in Texas on suspicion of public intoxication.īennett’s accountability about the incident satisfied a Rams organization already won over by his skill set and play in the Southeastern Conference and playoff games. The Rams dispatched Kellen Clemens, a former NFL quarterback, to meet with and evaluate Bennett before the draft. “But when you start watching him, you’re like, ‘Oh, he’s more than just like a cog in the wheel. “That’s what you think going in, so in a way it’s like you have to overcome your bias,” Jordan said. JW Jordan, the Rams’ director of draft management, said Bennett was more than a game manager simply handing the ball off to talented teammates. “You just always felt like he was going to make the next play, which is a pretty special trait to have as a quarterback.” “He just kept making throw after throw in a shootout game,” Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson said of Bennett’s performance in the 42-41 victory. As players and coaches dined together the night before their game against the Chargers, Bennett dueled with Buckeyes quarterback CJ Stroud. ![]() The Rams collectively watched Bennett play for Georgia in last season’s CFP semifinal against Ohio State. ![]() “Like, what else can you say? Those are the best teams out there.” “And what else can you do when he’s going out there and beating the Ohio States and beating up the Alabamas and Michigans? “Everybody was counting him out - ‘He won’t do this, he won’t do that’ - and he just blocked it out, went out there and kept showing you game after game after game,” Kendrick said. Underestimate Bennett’s ability to rise to the occasion, Kendrick said, and be ready to be proved wrong. Kendrick played one season with Bennett at Georgia in 2021. … All those reps all those years and stuff have helped.īennett and Stafford are not the only former Georgia players on a Rams roster that includes second-year cornerback Derion Kendrick and rookie offensive lineman Warren McClendon, a fifth-round pick. “I think you’ve got to be when you go through that journey like I did. His long and winding road served him well, Bennett said. McCarron as the only quarterbacks to win consecutive national championships. He accounted for six touchdowns in a title-game rout of Texas Christian at SoFi Stadium, joining Nebraska’s Tommie Frazier, USC’s Matt Leinart and Alabama’s A.J. So Bennett returned to Georgia and led the Bulldogs to a 15-0 record. Because of COVID-19’s impact on the 2020 season, the NCAA granted athletes an extra year of eligibility. In 2021, Georgia won the College Football Playoff championship, defeating Alabama to claim Georgia’s first national title since 1980. He returned to Athens in 2019, and eventually proved the perfect fit as the Bulldogs starter. “There’s always a lot to learn as a rookie to feel comfortable in an offense, especially in your first time on an NFL field in a training camp practice,” Stafford said, “but I thought he handled himself well.”īennett’s journey from college walk-on to Rams draft pick was not typical.Īfter redshirting at Georgia in 2017, Bennett transferred to a junior college. Stafford never won a college national championship, let alone two, but he led the Rams to a Super Bowl title.īennett is “a talented kid,” Stafford said after the Rams’ first training camp workout. “To be able to come in here and just learn from him and listen has been pretty cool,” Bennett said during offseason workouts. So he grew up watching Stafford, the top pick in the 2009 NFL draft. Bennett said his parents, both Georgia alums, had season tickets to watch the Bulldogs. Now Bennett, 25, is teammates with the 35-year-old Stafford, who starred at Georgia from 2006 to 2008. Late-season addition Baker Mayfield departed for a starting opportunity with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Neither John Wolford nor Bryce Perkins proved productive replacements and they were not re-signed. In 2022, Stafford suffered a concussion and a spinal injury that limited him to nine games. ![]()
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