Kirby Smart pleased with Stetson Bennett, D'Wan Mathis at G-Day

Georgia reserve quarterback D'Wan Mathis was 15-of-28 passing for 113 yards with an interception during Saturday's G-Day spring game in Athens, Ga.
Georgia reserve quarterback D'Wan Mathis was 15-of-28 passing for 113 yards with an interception during Saturday's G-Day spring game in Athens, Ga.
photo Georgia football coach Kirby Smart speaks with the media after the G-Day spring game Saturday in Athens, Ga.

ATHENS, Ga. - In a Georgia spring game in which 83 passes were attempted compared to only 32 rushes, the Bulldogs' quarterbacks stayed very busy.

That includes Jake Fromm and his backup tandem of Stetson Bennett and D'Wan Mathis. Bennett arrived at Georgia as a walk-on in 2017 and left the program after last year's G-Day contest for a one-season stint at Jones County (Mississippi) Junior College.

Mathis is an early enrollee from Michigan who Kirby Smart swiped away from Ohio State on the recruiting trail.

"D'Wan had a couple of sloppy snaps and a dropped snap there," Smart said. "I thought Stetson did a good job, but Stetson has played in this game before. Both of those guys did a good job of managing things and had a lot of throwing situations.

"They're only going to get better through practicing and playing in that kind of environment."

Bennett played for both teams during the Red's 22-17 triumph over the Black, with his 43-yard scoring strike to Jeremiah Holloman with 8:09 remaining giving the Red the lead for good at 19-17. He was a combined 12-of-23 passing for 210 yards and the touchdown.

In the final minute of the first half, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound redshirt sophomore had a 52-yard connection to Matt Landers for the Black.

"I'm just glad I didn't come out and throw five picks, honestly," Bennett said with a smile.

Mathis played for the Black team and completed 15 of 28 passes for 113 yards and an interception. The 6-6, 205-pounder also sustained five down-by-contact sacks.

The biggest highlight involving Mathis was his 39-yard touchdown reception from Landers off a reverse pass midway through the third quarter that provided the Black a 17-13 advantage.

"I played a little bit of QB in high school," Landers said. "I was ready for it, and I wanted to see the outcome. A lot of trick plays don't work. It was my first trick play here, and we accomplished it."

Dean arrives

Five-star freshman inside linebacker Nakobe Dean quickly immersed himself with the Georgia faithful, as the 6-foot, 220-pound early enrollee from Horn Lake, Mississippi, started for the first-team defense and collected five sacks.

"His role could be as much as a starting linebacker, or his role could be as much as a special-teams player," Smart said. "He could be a third-down guy. It's going to be determined by the other players and himself in terms of how much he grows and gets better."

Odds and ends

Junior receiver Demetris Robertson, who transferred to Georgia last summer from the University of California, did not play Saturday due to an illness. Junior safety Richard LeCounte led the Black team with eight tackles, while freshman safety Lewis Cine topped the Red with eight as well. Former Georgia coach Mark Richt, who guided the Bulldogs for 15 seasons before spending the past three years leading the University of Miami, will work this year as a studio analyst with the new ACC Network. Akinola Ogunbiyi (6-4, 329), the nation's No. 12 guard prospect out of the Houston suburb of Sugar Land, committed Saturday afternoon to the Bulldogs via social media.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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