After beating TCU for the national championship, Stetson Bennett was heading back to the Georgia locker room when Matthew Stafford walked up to offer his congratulations.
The two quarterbacks shook hands and hugged before posing with head coach Kirby Smart for a quick photo before joining the post-game press conference and celebration to come.
Bennett never dreamed they would be seeing each other again just four months later, thanks to the Rams selecting the two-time national champion quarterback with the 128th pick in the NFL Draft.
"Honestly, no, we were kind of caught up in the moment," Bennett told Rams beat writers after being selected. “That was actually my first time ever meeting him. I grew up watching him and being a fan of Georgia and all, but no, never could imagine.”
The fact he’ll be joining Stafford in the Rams’ quarterback room obviously is not the only coincidence.
That earlier meeting with Stafford took place at SoFi Stadium, the site of Georgia’s rout of TCU in the national championship, and where Los Angeles plays its home games.
“I love competing against the best, and it helps when you’ve got the best on your team,” said Bennett. “I think we do, not that I know that much. But obviously, if you’ve won a Super Bowl in the past few years, you know what you’re doing. I’m excited to learn. It’s an honor that those coaches and that GM thought enough of me to pick me, and now it’s my job to go and get better every day.”
According to Rams Director of Draft Management J.W. Jordan, picking Bennett was not a difficult decision.
The fact he quarterbacked the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships played a big role. For all the talk about Bennett’s age (25), Jordan said that also helped his cause.
“I said, like a lot of times when you watch a guy like that who's on a great team and has all these great players around him, and you watch him, and you realize he's just handing the ball off,” Jordan told reporters. “With him, what's unique is he's a winner, and he was what he was. Not the main reason, but, you know, one of those. He led them, he legitimately led them to those national championships. He wasn't just there as part of the team, and that's what you look for, that's what you want."
Bennett said he plans on soaking up every bit of information from Stafford that he can.
“Everybody is watching Calvin Johnson highlights on YouTube, and he was the one throwing to him,” Bennett said. “He's obviously extremely smart. He's one of the most talented quarterbacks that's ever played the game, and he's tough as nails. I'm excited to just go in there, be quiet, take notes, and learn.”
Jordan added the plethora of talent that surrounded Bennett did not sway the Rams’ opinion in a negative way, either.
During the process, Jordan revealed that the Rams sent former NFL quarterback and consultant Kellen Clemens to Athens to see Bennett. While here, Clemens put Bennett through a rigorous number of tests, including protection calls, problem-solving exercises, and plays.
Clemens and the Rams quickly learned that Bennett was not just a “game manager.”
“That’s what you think going in,” Jordan said. “So, in a way, it’s like you’ve got to overcome that bias. But when you start watching him, you’re like, ‘Oh. This guy is more than just a cog in the wheel. He’s driving the bus; for better or worse, however good or bad he is, he’s driving the bus.”
