Everyone likes a good nickname, right? In college football, that's seemingly especially true.
From Heisman winners Johnny Football to Famous Jameis, to more recent monikers like Tank Bigsby or Kool-Aid McKinstry, having a nickname seems almost like a rite of passage in today's college football landscape.
Among the current crop of players with a nickname is Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, whose nickname of "The Mailman" might be among the most apt on the nickname-position relevance scale in recent history.
Bennett has lived up to his nickname the last two seasons, delivering with relative ease. He completed 64.4 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,862 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions in leading the Bulldogs to a national title in 2021.
He has aired it out even more this season, completing 67.9 percent of his passes for 3,823 yards with 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions entering the national title game and finishing fourth in Heisman Trophy balloting.
MORE: How old is Stetson Bennett? Georgia star older than several NFL QBs
So, Bennett's nickname fits him well. But how did he get it? Sporting News takes a look at how he got the nickname.
Why is Stetson Bennett called 'The Mailman?'
It's all too fitting how Bennett got the nickname, honestly. For starters, Stetson is perhaps the preeminent cowboy hat brand and style in this country and Stetson University even calls itself the Hatters.
When Bennett was a student at Pierce County High School in Blackshear, Georgia, he attended recruiting showcases all across the country. He showed up for each in a very specific — yep, you guessed it — hat. It was a US Postal Service hat, which he donned proudly while still impressing as a passer.
Even back then, the hat became a talking point.
Fitting that @StetsonIV wore a US Mail hat to the @Elite11 Charlotte. The guy just flat out delivered. #Dude pic.twitter.com/SC2zvOQ7Sj
— Next Level Athletix (@NxtLevelAtx) April 25, 2016
Bennett wore it at every showcase and competition he attended while being recruited and it was his idea as a way to get him to stand out.
"My buddy's father is the mayor of a small town around here, and he's always getting cool things," Bennett told Bleacher Report back in 2016. "I saw the hat one day and asked if I could wear it. I first wore it to a camp in Valdosta [Georgia]. I'm not real big or striking physically, but I wanted to have something people would remember me by."
Bennett became recognized around the showcase circuit for his hat. Now, six years later, he could become recognized for leading Georgia to back-to-back national titles.
If he can channel his inner mailman one last time and be on time with his throws and deliver them cleanly, it could be just what Georgia needs.
