ASU Football: Expectations on the rise for star running back Eno Benjamin

(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)

Arizona State football’s (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12) 2018 season concludes at this Saturday’s Las Vegas Bowl against the No. 21 Fresno State Bulldogs (11-2, 7-1 Mountain West).

The year will be remembered in lots of ways, from first-year coach Herm Edwards quieting criticism of his hiring to a young defense that played beyond its years, and of course an abundance of highlight-worthy plays from star receiver N’Keal Harry.

However, one of the most overlooked storylines was the breakout season of sophomore running back Eno Benjamin- often overshadowed by the attention given to Harry.

“Eno’s a great back and he’s on a career pace for this program,” redshirt junior fullback Nick Ralston said. “He’s a high-energy guy, and we look to him as a leader on and off the field and we’re blessed to have him.”

To be fair, Harry is projected to be ASU’s first first-round pick on the offensive side of the ball since 2002- which took another step towards becoming a reality when he officially declared for the 2019 NFL draft.

Harry later announced he would not play this Saturday in the best interest of his future, which presents Benjamin his greatest opportunity yet to show the college football world who he is.

“He has great balance, great vision,” Edwards said. “He’s not the biggest guy … he’s a tough football player, he can run inside and outside.”

In a season where the team seldom played primetime, truly nationally televised games (the rare occasions it did were against other unranked teams with better games going on at the same time), Saturday’s 3:30 ET/1:30 MT kickoff on ABC, with no competing FBS games of national interest, should be Sun Devil football’s most-watched game in the Herm Edwards era- with Benjamin playing even more of a starring role on offense than usual.

The matchup will be a challenging one, as the Bulldogs rank 27^th in the nation in rushing defense (129.8 yds/gm) and are tied with Clemson for 2^nd in the FBS for fewest points allowed (13.7 pts/gm).

Of course, the flip side of this is Benjamin getting a chance to showcase the talent that made him ASU’s top single-season rusher in the Pac-10/12 era (1,524 yds, T-3^rd in nation- 2^nd most all-time to Woody Green’s 1,565-yard season in 1972 under Frank Kush) against a tough defense.

“What you don’t see is the time that he comes back to my office and (we) study the little things about the backers and how they fit the run, how the defensive end is going to play the run, how the D-tackle is going to play the run,” running backs coach John Simon said.

“He’s just detailed in being a pro at his craft. There’s one thing with your talent but there’s also the other side of your talent, it’s your craft- what you understand about the position and about your opponent.”

Speaking with Benjamin’s teammates and coaches, the most common theme when talking about him was everything he does outside of the “traditional” running back duties.

“Eno’s constantly asking me questions and giving input on what he’s seeing and what’s going on (in games),” offensive line coach Dave Christensen said.

“It’s like having an extra lineman out there, in a way,” junior starting center Cohl Cabral said. “Being able to have him where he’s like ‘hey, what are we doing with that guy there?’ helps out with us with communication of getting everyone in the right spot.”

This, it seems, is a combination of Benjamin’s natural intellect and the time he spends with the lineman- even as the team’s featured back.

“In the spring we would send him to the offensive-line room,” Simon said. “That was part of his development, part of his growth. When running backs present themselves to me that they understand what we’re doing, to further their development I send them into the offensive-line room to go start learning that.”

“Once he learns that, now this spring he’ll work as a receiver and learn the route-running part and learn the backing of a defense. So now when you come back, it makes you a complete player.”

Many would say Benjamin is already there, having scored nearly 40 percent (17 out of 44) of the team’s total touchdowns in 2018.

However, his 81.4 Pro Football Focus rating- better than any other Pac-12 running back (in a conference that has three of this season’s eight leaders in rushing yards in the FBS)- and his 67 forced missed tackles (2^nd in nation) really makes one wonder if there’s a limit to his potential with Harry no longer there to share the spotlight.

“Eno’s a different bird now,” Edwards said. “He’s in here like a coach. He’s not just coming to practice, he’s in here on the off (times) like on Tuesday or Monday.”

Edwards has coached the likes of NFL greats Curtis Martin, Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes over the last 20 years, so fair to say his observations carry some value beyond just being a college head coach.

But Edwards shared the opinion of someone who has even more significance- the 1977 Heisman trophy winner and first overall pick of the 1978 NFL draft.

“I walk in (my office) and I got a message, it’s from Earl Campbell,” Edwards said. “So I call him back…we started talking and he says ‘coach, I like your running back’ he says ‘I like the way you run the football.’”

“It was fun to visit with him- you’re talking about one of the better running backs to ever play the game- and watch the way we attempt to run the ball, he appreciated it. It’s nice to hear from somebody like that.”

Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales went so far as to suggest that Benjamin could garner some buzz amongst the Heisman voters next season when asked to compare him to the primary back he coached against in practice last season at SDSU- 2018 first-round pick Rashaad Penny.

“Eno and Rashaad, their competitive natures are very similar,” Gonzales said. “(Eno’s) only a sophomore, so he’s going to have two more opportunities to do something nationally. I mean, if we can win some games, then you all of a sudden- like we had Rashaad Penny and Donnel Pumphrey at San Diego State- you’re talking about the Heisman campaign all of a sudden. (Eno’s) talented enough, he’s that special of a player.”

Pumphrey, for the record, is currently the FBS’s all-time leader in career rushing yards.

The next 12 months of Sun Devil football are filled with uncertainty. But Saturday’s game just might show college football fans everywhere how far Benjamin can carry this team, and how far he can take his own legacy.

If all goes as planned, Benjamin could prove that ASU developing a player as talented as Harry isn’t just an aberration.