WATCH: SEC Network star Paul Finebaum questions Stetson Bennett decisions, NFL future

MOBILE, Ala. — Stetson Bennett’s recent off-field behavior and absence from the Senior Bowl came to a head on the SEC Network this week.

The Georgia quarterback has been projected as a third-round NFL Draft pick by Mel Kiper Jr., but many suggested throughout the week that Bennett should have accepted an opportunity to play in today’s all-star game.

McClendon, of course, was one of four passengers in the tragic Jan. 15 crash that claimed the life of his teammate, Devin Willock, and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy.

RELATED: More difficult details surface from tragic Georgia football accident

ESPN reporter Pete Thamel appeared on the Finebaum Show earlier in the week and shared concerns NFL teams have about the former Georgia quarterback.

Bennett talked about “butting heads” with Todd Monken throughout the past two seasons, and he shared how former UGA analyst Buster Faulkner would act as an intermediary between him and the grizzled offensive coordinator.

“I would say, just generally speaking, talking to scouts about Stetson going into the end of this year … there were modest concerns about his off-field behavior,” Thamel said, per ON3.

“If you’re going to be drafted to be a backup in the NFL, you need to be a teacher’s pet, you need to have your nose in the book and you need to have your nose clean.”

Per Thamel, “Stetson Bennett, reputationally, didn’t follow along those lines at Georgia. That doesn’t make him a bad person. He was a regular college kid. That doesn’t fit the archetype for the NFL — the Chase Daniels of the world who are super productive and can can hold the clipboard and be ready to play at any time. I don’t think anyone was ever under the impression that Stetson Bennett would be an NFL starter.”

Nagy said it will be very important how Bennett, a second-team All-SEC quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist, handles himself in interviews with NFL teams, and that he makes sure they understand he will know his place as a backup quarterback.

“There will be hard questions, the combine now, the pro day, he made it more difficult for himself, there’s no doubt,” Nagy said.

“…. he’s got to get himself in a headspace where he can answer those questions and be the backup the NFL wants. They want steady, dependable guys in that quarterback room, and he’s used to being the guy.”

Bennett, 25, was reportedly looking for a friend when officers responded to a noise-related complaint at approximately 6 a.m. local time in Dallas last Sunday.

WATCH: Bennett released from Dallas detention facility