UGASports is counting down the days until the Bulldogs’ 2024 season opener. For each day in our countdown, we will reveal our opinion of the best player in Georgia history to wear that particular jersey number.
We select Stetson Bennett as the best Georgia player to wear jersey number 13.
#13 STETSON BENNETT
Position: Quarterback
Hometown (High School): Blackshear, Georgia (Pierce County HS)
Height/Weight: 5-11, 190
Lettered: 2019-2022
Stats: 601 of 923 passing (65.1 comp%) for 8,429 yards, 66 touchdowns and 21 interceptions; 141 rushes for 530 net yards (3.8 avg.) and 14 touchdowns in 42 games/32 starts.
Career: A mere two-star prospect out of high school who initially walked on at Georgia in 2017, Stetson Bennett ultimately guided the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships while being recognized as one of the most accomplished players in the program’s history. Following an up-and-down 2020 season in which he started half the season’s games, Bennett took over as the full-time starting quarterback early in the 2021 campaign and hardly looked back. He passed for 2,862 yards (on only 287 attempts) and 29 touchdowns with a school-record passer rating of 176.69, guiding Georgia to its first national title in 41 years. In 2022 as a sixth-year senior, Bennett completed a then-school-record 68.28% of his passes for a program-best 4,127 yards as the Bulldogs were a perfect 15-0 while capturing a second consecutive national title. He was elected one of two permanent team offensive captains and received the Manning Award as college football’s top quarterback. Georgia’s first Heisman Trophy finalist in 30 years, Bennett finished fourth in the 2022 Heisman voting as college football’s most outstanding player. He was named an MVP in four CFP games, including twice in a CFP National Championship Game. The dual-threat’s 530 career rushing yards remain the most by a Georgia quarterback since D.J. Shockley’s 643 rushing yards from 2002-2005. Currently, Bennett’s career marks for passing yards per attempt (9.13), total offensive yards per play (8.42), and passing efficiency rating (160.86) all rank first in UGA history. Bennett was drafted in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2023 NFL Draft.
#13 Honorable Mention: SAF- Jake Scott (1967-1968); OLB- Azeez Ojulari (2019-2020); P- Drew Butler (2008-2011); PK- Marshall Morgan (2012-2015); DE- Jonathan Ledbetter (2016-2018); RB- Elijah Holyfield (2016-2018)
