ASU Football: True freshman Benjamin giving ASU another weapon in backfield

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

Less than 48 hours after scoring his first career touchdown, in his first breakout performance as a Sun Devil, Arizona State running back Eno Benjamin sent out a tweet on Monday night.

It was a quote from second-year Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, reading: “When opportunity presents itself, don’t ask why. Just take it and run with it.”

You can glean a lot from 140 characters. In Benjamin’s case, you get a glimpse into the future of ASU football.

It’s bright.

Benjamin couldn’t have picked a more fitting phrase to describe his current situation in Tempe.

The freshman running back is, first and foremost, young. Prescott is only two years removed from a successful collegiate career of his own at Mississippi State, yet is a source of wisdom for the 18-year-old self-proclaimed Cowboys fan.

“When I saw that [quote] go out, it kind of hit me,” Benjamin said. “I don’t know why but it did and it made me want to tweet that.”

Despite his age, Benjamin is far more prepared than his lean stat sheet would let on. An early enrollee last spring, he has been ambitiously awaiting his opportunity to impact a game. More than a year after first arriving on campus, he has had more than enough time, and put in more than enough work, to make positive impressions on his coaches.

Running backs coach John Simon called Benjamin “the type of kid I want.”

“He has a lot of suggestions, a lot of opinions within the scheme,” Simon added, noting how the freshman wants to know why plays, blocking schemes and game plans are designed the way they are.

“[He asks] the questions that you expect the veterans to ask, that he wants to know as a freshman…He understands the position. He understands the craft and he is physical and talented enough to make the plays.”

Benjamin has had to battle through injuries to both a knee and ankle since leaving his hometown of Wylie, Texas. It’s part of the reason he has had to wait till November before becoming a key part of a game plan.

“We had to make some decisions and bring him along slowly. Texas football is hard on guys bodies,” Simon said. “He’s ready to be given an opportunity to showcase what he can do. He came out and provided a spark – exactly what we want from our young guys.”

Even defensive coordinator Phil Bennett has taken notice.

Benjamin said that the Bennett, also in his first year with ASU, came to him last Thursday weeks game:

“[Coach Bennett] had a prophecy that it was going to be my breakout game,” Benjamin said, laughing at the truthful foretelling.

More than a breakout game, Saturday was Benjamin’s first taste of college-sized success.

“It was unreal. The crowd yelling, everything going wild. [It] was something I’d never experienced before and it was a good feeling,” he said.

Now, he wants the 50-yard, touchdown-scoring performance to be the starting point for his on-field success. He took his opportunity against the Buffaloes. He is ready to run with it.

“I just want to build on that,” he said. “Keep the motivation and confidence going in these last three games.”

Not all true freshman get a moment like that this early in their career. But it was decided long ago — just a couple weeks into preseason camp back in August — that Benjamin was not going to redshirt this fall. That call paid off when Benjamin extended the ball across the goal line to give ASU a lead over Colorado on Saturday.

“That will give you a little glimpse into what he’s capable of,” Graham said. “[It] bodes well for our future at that position.”

The four-star recruit is showing why he earned the distinction of a nationally-ranked top-10 running back in his class. After sprinting through high school football competition – a 7,000-plus yard career rusher at Wylie East High School according to MaxPreps – Benjamin’s long-term stock at the next level is rising.

But what about his role in the present?

“It’s awful tough to get reps because we have such a talented running back core,” Graham admitted.

“Obviously Demario (Richard) and Kalen (Ballage) are proven backs and are a big part of our game plan every week. We’ll get guys snaps and reps based on how they practice and what we think we got to do to win.”

Graham has reason to stick with his one-two senior punch. The duo combined for over 200 yards last week and together have over 1,100 yards from scrimmage this season. And those numbers don’t account for the impact they have in the locker room.

“They are both smart. They have both had success and they both know what they are doing,” Graham said.

But after Benjamin’s big day last week, ASU might have to find room for another gifted ball carrier in its increasingly crowded running back rotation.

“He is very natural within the tackle box,” Simon said. “He sees it; he sees the first level and the second level. He’s smart on the field and off the field, in regards to him understanding the blocking, understand where the blocks are coming from…even if he doesn’t see it.”

That was the case on Saturday when Benjamin nimbly navigated his way to the end zone.

“I remember in practice, they were telling us speed was going to be the main thing,” Benjamin said. “I just remember hitting the hole full speed, and there was a linebacker there and I knew I couldn’t get to the outside of him, so it was just like let me give this thing a little spin.”

With an even larger plethora of running back options, it’s a good problem to have for ASU’s coaching staff. Both Richard and Ballage have battled injuries at times this season; the Sun Devils have also had more success the more times they can hand the ball off, requiring them to keep a deep depth chart in the backfield.

The more the merrier when it comes to talented and healthy bodies that can carry the ball.

Graham also noted his pleasure with the diversity of skill sets in the running backs room. Richard is a bruising force between the tackles; Ballage is an athletic weapon capable of catching the ball out of the backfield and hurdling over oncoming tacklers; sophomore Nick Ralston has filled the role as the prototypical “third-down back” at times this year.

Simon thinks Benjamin has the potential to do any of those jobs. On one hand, he can be a bulky 5-foot-10, 200-pound player to pound the middle of a defense. Yet, as he showed on Saturday, he is still capable of whirling his way through a defense. After just 14 college carries, he has averaged nearly 6 yards per attempt, scored a memorable – and crucially important – touchdown, and lit the flames of optimism for his future.

“He’s a guy that I think has great promise,” Graham said.

Less than a year into his college career, Benjamin had made his introduction, impressing with his mixture of intelligence and skills — “Book-smarts and football-smarts” Simon calls it.

“Some guys have one or the other,” Simon added. “It’s rare you get a guy who has both.”

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