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Bennett thinks he's the best quarterback after winning the title.
Georgia beat Alabama for the national championship. (1:45)
2:34 AM
The hero was easy to spot and hard to see. Like he has always been.
After a few minutes, the College Football Playoff National Championship had ended and the Georgia Bulldogs had defeated Alabama 33-18, a contest that was much closer than the final score would have you believe. The Lucas Oil Stadium turf was filled with cigar smoke and confetti. Football players, coaches and family were running around screaming and hugging in groups of two, three, and five people.
There was a lot of people around No. 13. The leader. The country club name was given to him by his father, Stetson Bennett IV. He was hidden by the TV cameras, boom mics, and full-arm extension smartphone cameras, but you couldn't see him.
"Bennett!" Bennett! A Georgia athletic staffer with a couple of security guards in tow shouted "They need you up on the stage!" as they tried to penetrate the ring of photographers, reporters and teammates who had formed a wall around the quarterback. The kid who passed on scholarships to smaller schools and chose to walk on at Georgia, only to leave for a junior college, return, lose the starting job and regain it due to an injury to the starter, all while being hounded by the Dawgs who didn't believe he
Why not stick with it? His only childhood dream was to do what he did. The kid who went to games in Athens, Georgia, and ran around in his backyard with a football tucked under an arm that was draped in a UGA jersey, living out every fantasy of every kid in the world -- winning it all for the team he was born enamored with.
"Bennett!" Bennett! We really need to go!
The curly-headed young man asked if it was right now.
You're the offensive most valuable player!
Bennett joined his escort to the podium. The quarterback was running by the teammate who was pulling a black "Victory Lane" national title T-shirt over his shoulders. "They're loving your ass now, aren't they?"
Quarterback Stetson Bennett had a rough start against Alabama on Monday, but rebounded to deliver the national championship to Georgia.
The quarterback smiled and nodded, but refused to celebrate. He did the same thing as he stood atop that stage and received the applause of the thousands of red- and black-dressed fans who had been calling for his benching. During the postgame celebration, he sidestepped questions about doubters.
"What is your story, your stick-around, your fight, your attitude, what does it say to all of the walk-ons out there?" College GameDay host Rece Davis asked him a question.
Bennett's response? I have no idea.
He did the same thing during his chats with the national media.
"I've told you all along, and I think some people didn't believe me, that I really don't hear any of that stuff, the social media, or whatever, I really don't," he said as Monday night was turning into Tuesday morning. We wanted to do what we did. We did it. Some things that were said about me on the internet are not going to change that.
Good thing. At halftime of Monday's game there were a lot of people saying a lot of things, from hardcore Dawgs to people who probably hadn't watched Georgia football all season. He was sacked twice and was 11-of- 17 for 127 yards. The questions rose like a wave because every throw looked questionable.
He lost a pass-turned-fumble early in the fourth quarter that led to an Alabama touchdown pass and an 18-13 Crimson Tide lead. Bennett responded with a 40-yard touchdown pass of his own. Georgia led 19-18 and never trailed again.
Bennett's final stat line was 17-for-26, 224 yards, 2 touchdown, both coming in the fourth quarter.
He said in his news conference that the fumbled ball was not a good thing. That was just a game of football. I didn't say, "That's not how we're going to lose this game."
He began to rattle off the names of his teammates who he said stepped up and did what they needed to do to win the game.
Bennett said "I can't lose it this way" or something like that. His family was thinking about it. His supporters in Georgia were thinking about it. He mentioned his teammates to try to distract him. Not this way. Not him.
"We weren't going to let that happen," receiver Jermaine Burton said during the on-field celebration. He started the drive with a grab. We were not going to let that happen to Stetson. He has done a lot for us. It wasn't going to end like that.
Bennett fumbled in the fourth quarter and then threw a touchdown pass on the next possession.
It didn't. The bizarre fumbling didn't end there. The first three quarters were not the end. He was benched when he was told he should be.
He was the first former walk-on to beat a Nick Saban team since 1997. The first quarterback to win a national title was recruited as a two-star. The first quarterback to be ranked outside the top 20 at his position to win a national title was in the past two decades. He was 104th on the list.
The College Football Playoff trophy has been won by five quarterbacks. They were all drafted in the first round. Bennett's latest projections ranged from a late third-rounder to a free-agent signee. He is the first quarterback to lead Georgia to a national championship since New Year's Day 1981. He will never have to buy a lunch or a beer in Georgia for the rest of his life.
Did I cry? Yes. Bennett left the media room around 1 a.m. I didn't think I had cried in years, but there was no hiding it tonight. I don't think I'm done crying. Not a chance.
A social media hater was not allowed near the locker room where his teammates were waiting with love. He walked into a group of people waiting for him. The little guy vanished.
The hero of the Dawgs. It's easy to spot but hard to see.
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