Stetson Bennett’s storybook Georgia football career might continue with final stop at Senior Bowl

ATHENS — Stetson Bennett might be donning his Georgia football helmet one final time, according to Senior Bowl sources.

There’s a “strong possibility” Bennett will get an invitation to the nation’s premier collegiate all-star game on the heels of his lights-out performance in the CFP Championship Game last Monday night at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Bennett, who has been projected as a fourth-to-seventh round draft prospect, impressed NFL scouts with his six-touchdown performance in the Bulldogs’ 65-7 rout of TCU.

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Georgia tailback Kenny McIntosh, safety Chris Smith and kicker Jack Podlesny have already accepted invitations to play in the Reece’s Senior Bowl, which takes place at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 4 at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

UGA outside linebacker Robert Beal is headed for the East-West Shrine All-Star Game, which takes place on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas.

Jim Nagy, a former NFL scout and the executive director of the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., acknowledged last week that Bennett, a Heisman Trophy finalist, was emerging on his game’s radar after a stirring performance.

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“There’s more of the high school game that got to college and the college game that’s in the NFL in terms of spread,” Monken said last week at the Los Angeles Convention Center. “I mean, all you got to do is watch the Chiefs and the Dolphins, and you’re seeing spread offense, motion shifts, RPOs.

“So you’re seeing a lot of that that carries over because that’s what quarterbacks are comfortable with, at least what they’ve done.”

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That certainly benefits the 25-year-old Bennett, who has stayed hard at work mastering a complex NFL-style offense that has enabled him to change run plays, protections and modify receiver routes at the line of scrimmage.

The Senior Bowl practices leading up to the game are invaluable hands-on opportunities for the players to impress.

Hundreds of NFL personnel -- owners, presidents, general managers, head coaches and scouts -- encircle the field and evaluate in person as the players practice side-by-side in drill work.

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The Senior Bowl teams will be coached by a collection of NFL assistant coaches, exposing the players selected to representatives from more than half of the league’s franchises.

Georgia set a program record with six players taking part in Senior Bowl week last year, mall six of which were drafted:

• Devonte Wyatt

• Jamaree Salyer

• Justin Shaffer

• Jake Camarda

• Derion Kendrick

• Channing Tindall

Here’s a look back at the storylines entering last year’s Senior Bowl and how the returning team was viewed last January ....