Stetson Bennett announces return to Georgia Bulldogs football team; JT Daniels, Jermaine Burton hit transfer portal

Stetson Bennett said Wednesday that he will return to Georgia for a final season.

The quarterback he replaced, JT Daniels, won't be.

Daniels and Bulldogs receiver Jermaine Burton both entered the transfer portal Wednesday, with the news officially coming around the same time that Bennett took to social media to say he'll be back in 2022.

"One more year," the former walk-on turned starter  wrote on Instagram. "Let's roll." 

Bennett replaced Daniels as the Bulldogs' starter in early October and ultimately led them to their first national championship since 1980.

Daniels, who transferred to Georgia from USC after the 2019 season, had started three games early in the season but dealt with oblique and lat muscle injuries before being replaced. 

In 2020, Daniels returned from a knee injury to replace Bennett and guided Georgia to four wins, passing for 1,231 yards and 10 touchdowns, including a Peach Bowl victory over Cincinnati.

Daniels, ESPN's No. 3 pocket passer and No. 64 overall prospect in the 2018 recruiting class, played the 2018 and '19 seasons at USC. He became the second true freshman quarterback to start a season opener -- Matt Barkley did it in 2009 -- and started 11 games that fall, passing for 2,672 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Daniels suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opening game of the 2019 season and did not return.

Along with Bennett, Georgia's quarterback room also will include Brock Vandagriff, ESPN's No. 37-ranked recruit in the 2021 class, and Carson Beck, an ESPN 300 prospect in 2020. The Bulldogs also signed quarterback Gunner Stockton, ESPN's No. 109 prospect in the 2022 class.

Burton, who recorded 901 receiving yards and eight touchdowns over the past two seasons, also entered the portal Wednesday. ESPN rated Burton as the No. 99 overall recruit in the 2020 class.