Let’s turn back the clock to April 23rd of this year. I wrote a column that day on what Georgia needed from Stetson Bennett this upcoming season—the premise being the Bulldogs needed a professional level of attention to detail and decision-making from him to achieve their peak potential. Also, if Bennett did those two things, he could put up numbers good enough to put him in New York City this weekend.

Well, he did. And now he’s the first Georgia player to be in New York as a Heisman finalist in 30 years. How has he done with the two elements I highlighted in the column? What else is different about his play this year that’s put him in this position? Let’s examine.

This element can’t truly be quantified by statistics, but we’ve just plain seen it. His mechanics are better and more efficient. His footwork has been cleaner. It’s made him drastically better throwing on the run.

Without a shadow of doubt, you can see he is the offense’s leader. The right play. The right protection. The right place to distribute the ball. Has he been perfect? No, of course not. But he’s also greatly improved in these areas from last season.

This was from the column in the spring:

“Over the past two seasons, Bennett has 27 big-time throws (PFF's highest-graded) and 19 turnover-worthy plays, a ratio of slight less than 1.5 to 1. Bennett's ratio this season should be at minimum 2 to 1, but at least 2.5 to 1 should be the goal (for example, 25 big-time throws and 10 turnover-worthy plays).”

How’s he done in 2022 thus far? Twenty-two big-time throws and 10 turnover-worthy plays. Almost hit the goal I mentioned exactly. On a percentage basis, the big-time throws are the same from a season ago, but the turnover-worthy plays are down from 3.5 percent to 2.3 percent.

Thus, he’s exhibited attention to detail and good decision making, but what else specifically is different?

These numbers you’ve likely already seen or just plain know given the nature of the games. It’s a thing. He’s played his absolute best in the biggest games.

From a clean pocket, against the blitz, his throws 10-plus yards down the field, and his overall accuracy percentage are approximately the same from last year. When the windows have been tight, though, only North Carolina’s Drake Maye has been better in the Power 5 this year from a passing grade perspective. He’s obviously still missed some throws, but the numbers are quite an improvement from 2021.

Tight window/defender closing throws:

2021 (87 attempts) = 46.1 passing grade, 9.2 percent turnover-worthy plays, 2 TDs, 6 Ints

2022 (99 attempts) = 81.5 passing grade, 4.0 percent turnover-worthy plays, 7 TDs, 4 Ints

The money down. It’s clear the offensive coordinator now completely trusts Bennett to drop back and make the best decision on third down. While his touchdown and interception numbers on third down are the same as a season ago (6 TDs, 1 Int), his overall play is dramatically better.

2021 (69 attempts) = 47.2 passing grade, 64.5 percent adjusted completion, 7.1 percent turnover-worthy plays.

2022 (88 attempts) = 80.4 passing grade, 71 percent adjusted completion, 2.1 percent turnover-worthy plays.

It’s amazing what can happen to players when they are given reps and confidence from the coaching staff. Bennett took full advantage of those, got better and showed he is the undisputed leader of this offense and team. Was his name called Saturday night in New York? No. But I do know that, because of his development, attention to detail, decision-making, and overall play, he 100 percent deserved to be there.