georgia football stetson bennett will levis

ATHENS — In the eyes of the NFL draft scouts, Kentucky has the superior quarterback in this week’s matchup in Will Levis. Most tout the signal caller as a top-10 pick, due in part to his impressive physical traits.

“This guy’s got a bazooka for an arm. He can make all the throws,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “He’s a really good athlete, and he’s physically and mentally really tough. He’s wired that kind of way to compete against you. It’s not like he’s going to shy away from contact. He doesn’t get flustered by rush. He’s not afraid of standing in there and taking shots.”

To those who actually watch college football, Georgia may have the better quarterback in Stetson Bennett. The Georgia quarterback — who the NFL draft community believes is a late-round pick at this point — has more total touchdowns, fewer interceptions, a better completion percentage and a higher yards-per-attempt average than his Kentucky counterpart..

The two quarterbacks are probably more similar than they are different, physical attributes aside. Each quarterback plays with a certain swagger that adds to their game. Levis will lower his shoulder into a defender, while Bennett will taunt your fan base after scoring a touchdown.

For Georgia, that confidence from Bennett has led to a noticeable improvement. Especially from where Bennett was the last time he played at Kentucky.

“His maturity and confidence level is off the charts,” Kearis Jackson said of Bennett. “Seeing Stetson around 2020, what we were doing wasn’t efficient enough. Now we’re able to work around him and be more efficient. It’s showing that he’s having confidence in what we’re doing. Using his skill ability and taking that and the guys around him and mixing it all together to make something great happen.”

In the 2020 game against the Wildcats, Bennett completed just nine of his 13 pass attempts. He threw two interceptions and Georgia won only 14-3. A week later against Florida, Bennett suffered a shoulder injury and was benched in the game for JT Daniels.

By comparison, this Georgia offense is now averaging over 40 points per game. All that time working with Todd Monken has helped Bennett develop into a better player.

One that is capable of outplaying a potential top pick. Doing so shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point, given how Bennett played against Heisman Trophy candidates Hendon Hooker and Bo Nix during the 2022 season.

Levis and Kentucky have not had the season they thought they would, as the Wildcats were picked to finish second in the east, with some even thinking in the preseason this team had a chance of beating Georgia. At 6-4, Kentucky has had a mildly disappointing season. Especially coming off a loss at home to Vanderbilt last week.

Most have backed away from those thoughts as the game week has arrived. Some have even raised a skeptical eye at Levis’ draft credentials. But Smart still cautioned about expecting an easy victory. He pointed back to that 2020 game as one that still sticks with members of this Georgia team.

“When you ask our kids over the last two years what the most physical game they played in, to a man, almost every one of them talks about how physical the Kentucky game was two years ago up there,” Smart said.

Bennett and the Bulldogs take on Levis’ Wildcats at 3:30 p.m. ET this coming Saturday, with CBS airing the game.

Kirby Smart discuss Kentucky quarterback Will Levis

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