The Daily Recap: 'Thank goodness we decided to bring him back'
With Stetson Bennett entering his final regular season game with Georgia, head coach Kirby Smart noted how thankful he is that they were able to convince him to return to the program in 2019.
As everyone knows, Bennett walked on to Georgia in 2017 before transferring to Jones County Community College. In 2019, Bennett returned at the last moment following a signing day call from Smart.
“Thank goodness we decided to bring him back when we were sitting in a tough quarterback situation,” Smart said. “Probably the best decision we made when you look back of bringing him back here in what it looked like as a backup role, but not to him. I mean, he saw it as an opportunity to come in and play and he took advantage of it.”
Bennett's story, which included jumping from fifth on the depth chart to first in 2020 and third to first in 2021, will be something Smart remembers forever.
“Yeah, it takes a competitor. I mean, it takes somebody to overcome the odds, because you're not given the benefit of the doubt,” Smart said. “You know, you have to earn it. You have to beat guys out.”
Key's passion rubbing off on Tech
Georgia Tech may be 5-6 this season but it is 4-3 under interim head coach Brent Key. Smart stated why the Yellow Jackets are playing better under Key than they did when Geoff Collins was the head coach.
“They take on his personality of toughness, not beating themselves, being physical. You can tell they've probably honed down some things. He made some changes to special teams,” Smart said. “He played there. When you've got someone that played at that university and that's their alma mater, there's a certain level of want to desire to represent the University the right way.”
Smart has been familiar with Key dating back to his playing days.
“That’s a program I know a lot about. I’ve known Brent for a long time,” Smart said. “He played at Tech while I played at Georgia. We played against each other. And we spent some summers together. And I have a lot of respect for him as a coach.”
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