NEW YORK - Everyone in UGA circles has known the story of Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett for a good while now, but the entire country found out this week when the leader of the defending national champions was named a Heisman finalist. Dawgs Central was there to cover the activities and was afforded the opportuinty to speak with Bennett for 30 minutes or so Friday afternoon at the Marriott Grand Marquis on Times Square.

Bennett, who was once known more for his hair than his place on the UGA football team, was asked by a media member about his fade haircut at the beginning of fall camp. It was actually teammate Xavian Sorey who asked Bennett to let him give him a fade. Some will remember the recruitment of Sorey and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann letting the future Dawg give him a cut on one of his visits to Athens. Fast forward a couple of years and Georgia's starting quarterback let Sorey do the same.

“I think Sorey came up to me and was like, 'Let me fade you up man,' and I said, 'Alright, you can.' So I let him and was like, 'Oh, I kind of wear this well.' I had a necklace with it too,” Bennett said. “I'm sure my grandaddy is rolling over in his grave.”

“Then played well against Oregon, and then it seemed to be, when I didn’t have it I started playing bad and when I did have it I played pretty good,” Bennett said. “So I started doing it for the big games.”

While Sorey gave him the fade, defensive lineman Warren Brinson is at least partly responsible for the nickname. He's the one that posted the first picture of the fade on social media and threw the "Stetquavious" nickname in with it.

On Friday, a reporter asked Bennett what he thought about a picture from high school.

“I still see the same kid. He’s pretty stubborn, he needs a haircut, but he knew that then and he got here,” Bennett said. “People ask me a lot, ‘Did you ever see yourself here in this situation? Could you ever imagine?’ I’m like, ‘No, not really,’ but I also never really thought about it.”

He may not have seen himself as a Heisman Trophy finalist or as a national champion, but if he thinks the fade helps turn walk-on Stetson Bennett into Heisman trophy finalist Stetson "Stetquavious" Bennett, then every Georgia fan is probably fine with that.

photos courtesy of Jones College, Stetson Bennett Twitter, Warren Brinson Instagram