ATHENS — Turns out that Jake Fromm is not the only Georgia quarterback to utilize the services of quarterback guru David Morris.
Stetson Bennett IV, who is in a competition to become Fromm’s primary backup this year, also went out to Mobile, Ala., on spring break to attend one of Morris’ famed camps at his QB Country facility. Morris, a former Ole Miss quarterback, has been training quarterbacks, including Matt Barkley, Jake Coker, AJ McCarron, Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly, since 2004. He founded QB Country in 2010.
At the moment, Fromm is Morris’ most prized pupil. You couldn’t talk more glowingly than Morris does about Georgia’s starting quarterback, who has been attending sessions at QB Country since he was a high school sophomore.
“Everybody knows Jake’s the guy now at Georgia,” Morris said. “Everybody understands he’s the leader of that team and one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He’s earned that. I can’t tell you how good I think Jake Fromm is. Fromm is off the charts.”
Meanwhile, Morris is coaching Bennett for the first time. At 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, Bennett is a radically different study than the 6-2, 225-pound Fromm. But as Morris noted in a tweet that he sent out on QB Country’s Twitter timeline on Friday, Bennett’s also a more “twitchy” quarterback than Fromm. Armed with quick feet and a quick release, he’s almost better on the ad lib than with a scripted play.
“Stetson’s very talented, very confident,” Morris said. “He’s got to get better with his feet and he’s trying to gain weight, so he’s working hard on a lot of things. But, I mean, he’s a talented joker. I’ve heard the Baker Mayfield comparisons and that’s interesting. He’s got some of that play-making ability, some of that magic, for sure.”
Morris said he believes Bennett has a decent grasp of Georgia’s offense, but that he could benefit from gaining some insights from Fromm on how to run it and how to lead.
“It’s just a matter of being a little more patient initially, staying ready on the pocket and just studying football,” Morris said. “There’s a lot Stetson can learn from Jake about all of that.”
Interestingly, Bennett and Fromm did not attend the QB Country camp at the same time. Both came during this year’s spring break, but Fromm visited the first part of the week while Bennett came later.
Whether Bennett came at the behest of Fromm or Georgia offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach James Coley, Morris couldn’t say.
Morris said he has not worked with Georgia’s other quarterback, D’wan Mathis. The 6-foot-6, 205-pound freshman is from Belleville, Mich., where he has worked with other quarterback specialists.
One of them, Bennett or Mathis, will get the call should Fromm have to come out of a game, or worse, have to sit out an extended period.
Morris was asked if, from what he’s seen, Bennett would be able to take the torch from Fromm and run with it?
“So, there’s instincts and then there’s learned quarterback play,” Morris said. “Some guys are very instinctual and they just make plays, kind of like Tua (Tagovailoa); then you’ve got guys who are smart and can game-manage; then you have guys who are very smart and have instincts and can game-manage, like Jake Fromm.
“What I’ve seen of Stetson, he has great instincts, he’s a play-maker and he’s going to do some stuff that makes you say, ‘my goodness!’ He does have some wow stuff even though he’s not a big guy. As far as him learning the offense and how well he comprehends it, it’s too early for me to tell.”
Bennett initially came to Georgia from Blackshear as a preferred walkon. After running the scout team as a freshman and going through the 2018 spring practice as a backup, Bennett accepted a scholarship to Jones County (Miss.) Junior College. After leading his team to a 10-2 record, Bennett was signed by the Bulldogs last December and now is on a full ride as Georgia’s No. 2 quarterback.
Bennett does have the most important trait of all exceptional quarterbacks, according to Morris, and it’s one that can’t be taught.
“I picked up early on that he doesn’t need anybody to tell him that he’s a great football player for him to think it,” Morris said with a laugh. “I like that, because if you don’t believe it, it’s not going to happen. Being an undersized guy, you’ve got to think like that because everybody else is telling you that you can’t do it. He’s quick and twitch and can run, so there’s definitely some stuff to work with there.”
Speaking of QB Country, soon Georgians won’t have to travel as far to benefit from the teachings and philosophy of David Morris. QB Country is opening an Atlanta location on April 6th. It will be operated by former Syracuse quarterback and Division II coach Charley Loeb.