Stetson Bennett has signed an NIL deal with Shuman Farms based in Reidsville, Georgia. Georgia’s starting quarterback will promote the company’s sweet onions, focusing on gameday tailgating.

You could say it’s certainly a fitting partnership for Bennett and one of Southeast Georgia’s largest producers of sweet onions.

“It seemed to me a natural connection between Stetson and us—and that’s why we wanted him to help promote our sweet onions,” John Shuman, CEO of Shuman Farms, informed UGASports earlier this afternoon. “He’s from South Georgia too (Blackshear, Ga.), only about 45 minutes to an hour from Reidsville. We’re also big Georgia football fans. And sweet onions are a part of football tailgating. So, we saw us working with Stetson as a natural partnership.”

Still, Shuman was primarily drawn to Bennett’s perseverance and what he had overcome to accomplish what he has thus far on the gridiron.

“When he was a walk-on, then he transferred to a junior college, and was later the backup at UGA, Stetson could have walked away from Georgia at any point—and many people probably wouldn’t have blamed him. But he persevered,” Shuman said. “And look what Stetson would have missed out on, like a national title, if he would have walked away.”

Although on a much different scale, Shuman understands Bennett’s past struggles and perseverance as he experienced similar challenges as a young, inexperienced sweet onion farmer. When Shuman returned home from college in 1994, his family farm was on its way to going out of business.

“In those early years of me trying to keep my family’s sweet onion business going, I had a lot of people tell me it wasn’t going to work, that the industry was too crowded, too competitive. But I persevered,” Shuman said.

By 1998, in order to grow and ship their variety of sweet onions year-round, Shuman Farms had expanded its business beyond South Georgia to South America in Peru. Today, the company is one of the largest growers, packers, and shippers of sweet onions in not only the state, but in the country of Peru as well.

“Believe me, I have absolutely no real idea of what Stetson’s gone through,” Shuman admitted. “But, based on my experience, and being a football spectator and fan, I can get a sense of what he persevered through—and it’s highly admirable.”

In partnership with Shuman Farms, Bennett was recently part of a football tailgating-themed commercial. It was then Shuman got an even better understanding of Stetson Bennett, the person.

“With all the success Stetson has had on the field, he has kept his humility, stays true to who he is, and has been very gracious with his time,” Shuman said. “He’s someone we’re very proud to associate ourselves with and we’re extremely grateful he’s helping us promote our sweet onions.”