Mike Griffith,
DawgNation staff
@mikegriffith32Posted 2 hours ago
ATHENS – Stetson Bennett could soon be back in the headlines for football-related reasons.
Bennett is expected to receive a Senior Bowl invite, and should he decide to face TCU quarterback Max Duggan at the annual All-Star Game, he may have the ideal NFL coach on hand to evaluate him up close.
The Senior Bowl confirmed that Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy will lead the American team.
The event in Mobile, Alabama, which attracts hundreds of NFL employees from head coaches to team owners, presidents, general managers and scouts, has been transitioned to a format that allows multiple franchises to serve on the coaching staffs of both teams .
Practice begins January 31 and leads to the game on February 4 at beautiful Hancock Whitney Stadium in South Alabama.
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Bennett’s next move
Bennett has said he wants to play football for as long as possible and he’s worked hard to get to that point.
Getsy’s importance at the Senior Bowl, where Bennett is concerned, is that he runs an offense in Chicago with former Georgia and Ohio quarterback Justin Fields that could suit Bennett’s abilities.
UGA coordinator Todd Monken, who created much of Georgia’s offensive success with his versatile plans and brilliant play calling, discussed how the NFL game is trending in favor of smaller, more mobile quarterbacks like Bennett and the predicted top NFL draft -Prospect Bryce Young has changed.
“In terms of distribution, there’s more of the high school game that got into college and the college game that got into the NFL,” Monken said.
“All you have to do is watch the Chiefs and the Dolphins and you see spread attacks, move shifts, RPOs,” said Monken, himself a former record-breaking NFL offensive coordinator.
“So you’re seeing a lot of that going forward because that’s what quarterbacks are comfortable with, at least what they’ve been doing.”
Coach Kirby Smart shared many times that Bennett’s mobility was key to the UGA offense.
About Justin Fields
Smart recruited Fields and did everything he could to keep him at Georgia because of his affinity with mobile quarterbacks.
Fields is a former five-star quarterback and first-round draft pick who set a Chicago Bears franchise record for rushing quarterbacks last season with more than 1,000 yards.
Fields appears to have a long-term future in Chicago even if the Bears are the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft, but Bears general manager Ryan Poles recently said he had to be “absolutely blown away” to pick a quarterback with this one Selection.
RELATED: The Chicago Bears appear invested in Justin Fields and have an option at quarterback
Additionally, the Poles made it clear to ESPN that Chicago is excited about Fields’ potential, saying, “We’re excited to see his development and where he goes next. He showed the ability to be effective with his legs. There are lightning bolts with his arm. If we can put that together now, I think we have something really good.”
Bennett and Fields future teammates
Bennett, like Fields, hasn’t always been as consistent with his arm as others in the elite quarterback ranks, but he has shown flashes when throwing the ball while impressing with his legs in big games.
The irony, should the storybook scenario play out with the Bears drafting or signing Bennett as a free agent, is that Bennett said he left Georgia in 2018 to avoid competing with Fields and then-quarterback Jake Fromm.
“They had their man then, and I saw that,” Bennett said when Manning asked him during his ESPN Plus show Eli’s Places why he went as a walk-on after one season in 2017.