Georgia Football brought Stetson Bennett, Nolan Smith, and Sedrick Van Pran to SEC Media Days in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Each took their turn making their way through the gauntlet of media eager to talk to them about winning a National Championship last season and turning the page to the next.

Below are highlights from each player’s time behind the mic.

Quarterback Stetson Bennett

On his decision to stay at Georgia…

“You play the game to play the game, and you play the game to win and compete against the best players. I am able. I am secure enough. I can look in the mirror. I wouldn’t have gotten drafted high last year. So, what was the guarantee that I was going to go start in the NFL last year? Probably really low. For this next year, probably pretty low. This is the best football conference in the country, but if we take care of business, then we take care of business here. I am here to compete against the best players. You have the best players on your team, best coaches, smartest league. I think it is the biggest honor in the world to be able to go out there with a G on the side of my helmet, my name on the badge, looking across at my brothers and know we are playing for the University of Georgia, the State of Georgia and for Bulldog fans throughout the country. So really, it wasn’t that tough of a decision. I love football. I love everything, most everything, about it and I love to compete.”

On racing against his teammates…

“I can beat a lot of dudes, Ladd’s [Ladd McConkey] got me, Ladd’s good. I might have Dan [Jackson]though. I don’t know we haven’t really raced. It’s usually just fun and games, racing. God, I remember running against Travon [Walker] last year though. That was embarrassing to think of. To be my size, I think I’m pretty quick, running. Looking to my right and seeing 6-foot-6-inches, 270 pounds keeping up with me and I think, ‘Good Lord man, who are you?’ There is a bunch of guys like that on the team too. The sprints will make conditioning a little easier. We will point and be like ‘I got you right here, let’s race,’ just to make it a little more competitive and fun.”

On playing with his brother Luke this season…

“That’s probably the coolest thing for me that came out of COVID-19, if you can say that. We were always super tight, but I was five years older than him. We were never able to get on the team together. Being able to have that opportunity, it’s special. We are both super lucky. I know my mom is a big fan of it happening. Hopefully the stars align, and we can throw a pass to each other, but for right now, we are good just being on the same team.”

Outside Linebacker Nolan Smith

On the defense after losing eight starters…

“I see a bunch of young guys that fly around and are just excited to learn football. Excited to be under Coach Smart. He spent 10-12 years at Alabama, being a great defensive coordinator. I think that is the ultimate reason why I came back, to learn from him and take every day in one step at a time. Be where your feet are.”

On staying focused coming off the National Championship…

“Humility. That is one of the big things that we took last year to move a step forward. Connect with your brother and be humble. Don’t have an ego. That’s another thing here, the past is your ego. We can’t control last year. We can’t do anything on last year. We can only look forward. Be where our feet are at, and that’s now.”

On the credit of the team’s buy in…

“The buy in is key. Once you have a bunch of guys that buy in and start pulling the rope in the same direction – as we say metaphorically – you get a lot of guys that want to pull that rope in that same direction. You get guys telling people, ‘Hey man, that’s not right. This is the way to do things. This is the way we do things at Georgia.’”

Offensive Lineman Sedrick Van Pran

On entering the 2022 season as the National Champions…

“I think you have to be competitive. That’s definitely something that we preach to our team. Making sure that we’re competitive every day, we compete with each other, and making each other better. The more competitive you are, focusing on every rep, every game, every week, you have no choice but to kind of put it behind you and get better.”

On his teammates …

“I like how connected this team is. If I’m being honest, connection was definitely something that we preached last year, but I think this year guys spend time outside of football together: fellowship, guys going to church together, cookouts together, and those types of things. I think those are the things that are the minute details that help you win in the long run.”

On his teammate, Ladd McConkey…

“I can’t say anything that I think people don’t know about Ladd. He is extremely hard working and a great guy. I think the best thing about Ladd’s process is through everything he went thought, he was really humble about it, never complains. Never said, ‘I should be getting more reps.’ He puts his head down and works. When he got his chance, he thrived. I’ll say this to him personally. That’s somebody I look up to and try to model myself after.”

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