Kirby Smart has a personal connection to the Burlsworth Award, and he shared that on the SEC coaches media teleconference on Wednesday.

Smart was with the Indianapolis Colts in 1999 in preseason camp alongside Brandon Burlsworth. So when Georgia QB Stetson Bennett was named a finalist of the Burlsworth Award, given to the nation’s top walk-on college football player, it resonated with Smart.

“Super proud for Stetson, what a great honor,” Smart said. “I don’t know that people give that award the proper recognition. Probably one of the greatest awards to me, because it means I went here without a scholarship. Walk-ons are special. … It’s a special award for me. I was with the Colts 1999 preseason and Burlsworth was there. We were with the Colts at the same time, then the tragic accident happened. I was quick to explain that to Stetson and what the award means and what he was like.”

Burlsworth was a walk-on offensive lineman at Arkansas, and later became an All-American before he was killed in a tragic car wreck.

Bennett on Saturday will be among the players honored for Senior Day, even though eligibility is fluid because of the pandemic.

“We’re going to have somewhere between 28-30, I think it is,” Smart said. “… Stetson will be one of them. I think of the 28 or 30, there are more than half who have extra eligibility and are considering using it. … Some of these guys are not necessarily going to be super seniors, they just have some eligibility left.”