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Stetson Bennett over Hendon Hooker: CFB fans, media shocked by Heisman Trophy finalists
By Andrew Olson
Published:
The Heisman Trophy Trust has the college football world talking on Monday night. Much of the initial reaction centers around 2 SEC quarterbacks.
Quarterbacks Stetson Bennett (Georgia), Max Duggan (TCU), C.J. Stroud (Ohio State) and Caleb Williams (USC) are the final 4 up to win the Heisman on Saturday in New York City. There are many fans and media members surprised that Georgia’s Bennett got the nod over Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker.
Bennett making the final 4 while Hooker was left out has led to many statistical comparisons. Hooker tore his ACL in Tennessee’s loss to South Carolina, sidelining him for the regular-season finale at Vanderbilt and UT’s upcoming Orange Bowl clash with Clemson. Bennett led UGA to an undefeated regular season, an SEC Championship victory and a College Football Playoff berth as the No. 1 overall seed.
Here’s a small sample of the Twitter reaction focused on the 2 SEC QBs:
Imagine Stetson Bennett IV on Tennessee's roster.
Then imagine Hendon Hooker on Georgia's roster.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) December 5, 2022
Players that should’ve been a Heisman finalist before Stetson Bennett:
– Blake Corum
– Drake Maye
– Michael Penix Jr.
– Marvin Harrison Jr.
– Bijan Robinson
– Hendon Hooker
– Bo Nix
– Bryce YoungJust an inexplicable decision.
— Nico (@elitetakes_) December 6, 2022
Stetson Bennett: 269-396 (67.9%), 3,425 yards, 8.6 Y/A, 20 TD, 6 INT, 154.2 rating
Hendon Hooker: 229-329 (69.6%), 3,135 yards, 9.5 Y/A, 27 TD, 2 INT, 175.5 rating
This is an affront to decency and common sense, @HeismanTrophy.
— Big T (@ConnerHKnapp) December 5, 2022
Imagine choosing Stetson Bennett as a Heisman finalist over Hendon Hooker. They absolutely lost their minds.
Bennett: 3425 yards, 20 TDs, 6 INT, 8.6 YA, 184 rush yards, 7 TDs
Hooker: 3135 yards, 27 TDs, 2 INT, 10.9 YA, 430 rush yards, 5 TDs IN TWO LESS GAMES
— Nathanael Rutherford (@Mr_Rutherford) December 5, 2022
Stetson Bennett: 3,609 total yards, 27 total touchdowns and six interceptions
Hendon Hooker: 3,565 yards, 32 total touchdowns and two interceptions in two fewer games than Bennett
Pretty obvious which one deserves to be a finalist. Voters got it wrong.
— zach ragan (@zachTNT) December 5, 2022
Stetson Bennett in the Georgia locker room right now finding out he gets a trip to New York over Blake corum and Hendon hooker because he’s the qb around 40 nfl players pic.twitter.com/pkL80rWbcM
— John (@iam_johnw) December 6, 2022
With all due respect, if you want Stetson Bennett on your team instead of Hendon Hooker or Blake Corum you might want to start watching Soccer more often.
— TND (@TNDTweets) December 6, 2022
I love Stetson Bennett’s story and he is a hell of a quarterback who’s probably going to win two national championships. But who is voting for him over Bryce Young and Hendon Hooker for the Heisman?
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) December 6, 2022
Stetson Bennett and C.J. Stroud over Hendon Hooker as a Heisman finalist is CRAZY
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) December 5, 2022
Why is Stetson Bennett a top 4 #Heisman finalist? He has a cool name for sure, but Hendon Hooker is far more deserving no?
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) December 6, 2022
Stetson Bennett being a Heisman finalist over Hendon Hooker is objectively bad. Disrespectful. All of the above.
— Drew Cook (@DPADrewCook) December 5, 2022
Stetson Bennett isn’t even the best player on his own team, maybe not even close.
Hendon Hooker transformed our entire team and program. He is our best and most important player.
What do they base the vote off of?
— Smokey Vol (@theSmokeyVol) December 6, 2022
Stetson Bennett is a Heisman finalist and Hendon Hooker isn't.
That's insane. Hendon deserved better.
— Will Boling (@will_boling) December 5, 2022
Put Stetson Bennett on Tennessee and they don’t make a bowl.
— Brandon Walker (@BFW) December 6, 2022
Saturday’s ceremony is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Alabama QB Bryce Young won the award last season.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
