JT Daniels began the 2021 season as Georgia’s starting quarterback. Stetson Bennett ended the championship-winning season as the guy.

Some of the events that led to that change are well-known. Daniels started against Clemson. He picked up an injury in that game. Bennett beat out Carson Beck to be the team’s backup quarterback. Bennett threw for 5 touchdowns in his first start against UAB.

“They let me and Carson compete during the week and for me it was like, ‘Screw it man, I’ve got nothing to lose. It’s already over, so I might as well go.’ So I beat him out and then threw for five touchdowns, which was pretty cool,” Bennett said while appearing on the Unreserved with TJ Callaway Podcast.

Daniels returned the next week against South Carolina. Bennett detailed the behind-the-scenes process that led to Daniels scoring on his first two drives, while Bennett threw an interception with his first chance at leading the offense.

“We were gonna go two drives him, he was going to start the game, and then two drives me and we were just gonna figure it after that,” Bennett said. “And JT goes down and he scores on two drives and I’m freaking sitting on the sideline like ‘I gotta follow that?’ Like this was a good run.

“And then to make it worse, I’m pressing and not really thinking about the game or the team, I’m thinking how does Stetson do better than that, right? So I go out and promptly throw a pick, like the first play of the next drive.”

Georgia would go on to win the game 40-13. Daniels threw for 303 and 3 touchdowns, while Bennett was 1 for 3 with the aforementioned interception.

“I remember feeling like the most, just everybody in the stadium looking at me like ‘We let him play again. And then he did that.’ So I was like, ‘Now it’s over,’ Bennett said.

But it was not over. A week after playing South Carolina, the Bulldogs took on Vanderbilt. Georgia roared out to 35-0 first-quarter lead, with Daniels completing 9 of his 10 attempts for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

Daniels did not come out for the second quarter. Bennett took over the offense and he wouldn’t end up relinquishing the role.

“What happened, I think, I haven’t talked to Kirby about it, we go to Vandy and we go up 28-0 in the first quarter. JT is lighting them up,” Bennett said. “Ladd (McConkey) catches a fade, Brock (Bowers) scores like four times that day. But then JT takes himself out after the first quarter and he never went back in. Like the whole season.

“So I don’t think he (Kirby) liked that. That JT kind of tapped out or was like ‘Hey, I’m not doing it.’ And then I played from then on. I don’t really remember having a talk like hey you’re gonna be the starter. I’m sure we did.”

Bennett started the next week against Arkansas and held the job for the final 10 games of the season. He finished the season throwing for 29 touchdowns and led the Bulldogs to their first national championship since 1980.

After the season, Daniels transferred to West Virginia. Bennett returned to Georgia for another season and led the Bulldogs to a 15-0 record. He finished fourth in Heisman voting while leading the Bulldogs to another national championship. Bennett was taken in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.

Like the 2021 season, Georgia opens this upcoming year against the Clemson Tigers. The game will be played on Aug. 31 and is set for a Noon ET start on ABC.