Stetson Bennett plans to bring back flip phone, recounts Tennessee phone hijinx: ‘They upset me’ (2024)

Stetson Bennett stated that his favorite play during his Georgia career was a first-quarter touchdown run against Tennessee in 2022.

Of course, that play is largely remembered by Bennett’s iconic phone celebration. And the backstory that led to the moment.

Tennessee fans had gotten a hold of Bennett’s cell phone number prior to the 2022 contest between then-SEC East foes.

“They called my phone a thousand times that night,” Bennett said while appearing on the Unreserved with TJ Calloway podcast. “I had to turn it off. I listen to white noise before every game. Freaking couldn’t listen to it because my phone was going non-stop. I was upset.”

Bennett famously had a flip phone throughout the 2021 season, as he used it to block out the noise that came from social media. In the podcast, Bennett admitted to listening too much to the outside noise in his early days as Georgia’s starting quarterback.

So with Bennett unable to focus in his usual manner, his mind drifted elsewhere.

“I told Brett (Seither) I gotta score, I can’t throw it and then do it, I gotta run a touchdown in and do the whatever,” Bennett said. “And then we scored and I did it. I felt really cool.”

It didn’t take Bennett long to have his revenge on Tennessee and its fans. On Georgia’s second drive of the game, Bennett led Georgia down the field and into the red zone. On a third and 10, Bennett escaped from the pocket and powered his way into the end zone.

After he scored, Bennett didn’t hesitate to flash a phone signal using his hand. It was a clear shot at Tennessee.

The touchdown gave Georgia a 6-3 lead. The Bulldogs would not trail for the remainder of the game, as Georgia bullied its way to a 27-13 win over Tennessee.

“I think everybody was mad. The fans were mad. I knew the team was mad,” Bennett said. “The audacity of Tennesse Volunteers to be ranked No. 1. The audacity. I hated it. I think they knew pregame too. I think they knew. You could just see it.”

Tennessee entered the game as the No. 1 team in the country. But Bennett and the Bulldogs left little doubt as to who was actually the top team in the country.

Georgia went on to finish the season with a 15-0 record. Bennett finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting that season, becoming the school’s first Heisman Finalist since Garrison Hearst.

Following his success at Georgia, Bennett was taken in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. Bennett did not enjoy the same success in his first year in the NFL, as he did not appear in a game and was away from the team for much of the year.

Bennett is back with the Rams now and went through OTA’s with the team. As he prepares for his second NFL season with the Rams, Bennett did share that he hopes to go back to using a flip phone.

“I‘m going back. I gotta get out the flip phone,” Bennett said. “I gotta stop, it just doesn’t matter. To be a starting quarterback in the NFL, we are the entertainment. Which is cool and it is an honor and it’s the luckiest thing in the world. But, I can’t shy away from it and look at it in the face. And if I don’t play well, then yeah, I don’t play well.

“But the flip phone, the main reason I got it is because I think it’s cool. It’s not very productive for getting back to people. I will say this, going to the NFL, a lot of those guys are not good at it either.”

Bennett isn’t the only former Georgia quarterback on the Rams, as Matthew Stafford is the starting quarterback for Los Angeles.

Even with Bennett away from the Rams, he was still at a few Georgia games last season. His brother Luke is a walk-on for the Bulldogs. The younger Bennett recorded his first career catch in Georgia’s win over Florida State in the Orange Bowl.