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Former University of Tennessee Volunteers quarterback and current radio host Erik Ainge is in the news for throwing major shade at UGA’s Stetson Bennett.
Stetson Bennett has had one of the most interesting career arcs of anyone in college football. He went from being a walk-on at UGA in 2017 and not taking a single snap to transferring and later returning to lead Georgia to its first national championship in over 40 years, a game he was named MVP in.
Former Volunteers QB Erik Ainge was once named the MVP of the 2008 Outback Bowl in a 21-17 win against Wisconsin. That’s not exactly the same as being named National Championship MVP but it’s something, right?
On the latest episode of The Erik Ainge Show on 99.1 ‘The Sports Animal’ radio, Erik Ainge inexplicably threw major shade at Stetson Bennett. Ainge referred to Georgia’s QB as ‘such a punk’ while blasting Stetson’s story.
Erik Ainge said “You know who I can’t stand though? Stetson Bennett.” That’s not exactly a strange statement for a former Tennessee Volunteers QB. Hating on a rival is par for the course. But it got weird from there.
Ainge went on to say “It was cute when he first got to play and played pretty good. And now the whole like I’m a walk-on, I’m a JUCO transfer, he’s like 28-3 as a starter at Georgia, or something like that.”
Erik went on to make it clear that he wants to see Stetson Bennett and the Georgia Bulldogs fail. Saying “I’m cheering hard against him. I want Georgia not to just lose the game I don’t want them to lose with Stetson Bennett throwing 4 touchdowns. I want Stetson Bennett to throw 4 picks and cost his team a championship. He’s such a punk.”
I find it virtually impossible to not respect and enjoy Stetson Bennett’s ascension to the throne. I’m an unbiased FSU/ACC fan. Stetson Bennett has a great story. Denying that is odd.
Currently, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett is predicted to be somewhere around a 6th or 7th NFL Draft pick. That could certainly change a lot based on his performance against TCU in the National Championship.
Erik Ainge was drafted in the 5th round by the New York Jets where he spent 3 seasons. In his first season, he was suspended for 4 games for violating the league’s policy on steroids and related substances. It’s unclear if he tested positive for haterade or not but we can only assume given his latest comments.