How Stetson Bennett compares to this former NFL quarterback
By Austin Lloyd
How comfortable was Alex Smith in college?
When remembering Smith’s time as a Ute, the 2004-05 season is the first thing that comes to mind, as it was not only an iconic run for Smith, but also for the Utah football program as a whole.
That season saw the Utes go unbeaten en route to a Fiesta Bowl appearance that made them college football’s first “BCS buster.” They went on to win the bowl over the 8-win Pittsburgh Panthers 35-7. The stretch of success was so dominant that it led to Smith eventually being selected with the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.
Since that astonishing run, something that has been widely praised is the coaching staff that Utah had at the time. The staff was not only led by head coach Urban Meyer but also saw Kyle Whittingham as defensive coordinator and Dan Mullen as the quarterbacks coach. That elite of coaching talent being sprinkled along the sideline made the Utes all the more capable of a team on both sides of the ball, especially with them primarily facing Mountain West competition.
But while the overpowered staff was easily the most impactful factor in Smith’s relatively comfortable college experience (and what were ultimately unrealistic expectations for him to meet in the league), the reasoning behind Bennett’s goes far beyond that.