Tag: break out

An under-the-radar breakout player to watch for the 2020 Wisconsin defense

Much is being written and said about returning defensive leaders Jack Sanborn and Eric Burrell and their futures both in Madison for…

[lawrence-newsletter]

Much is being written and said about returning defensive leaders Jack Sanborn and Eric Burrell and their futures both in Madison for the 2020 season and possibly in the NFL in the near future.

One player flying a bit under the radar for Jim Leonhard‘s defensive unit, a guy who showed flashes of dominance last season as a true freshman, is defensive tackle Keeanu Benton.

The Wisconsin native played in eight games in 2019, again as a true freshman, and recorded 12 total tackles, four tackles-for-loss and two sacks.

First of all, playing at all as a true freshman yet alone having meaningful production in eight games is rare for the Wisconsin defense, as it is usually a veteran-heavy unit with many players taking a redshirt when they arrive to the program.

Second, the story of a defensive lineman’s production isn’t completely told by his tackle and sack numbers, as when you’re drawing double teams and forcing the quarterback to get the ball out early, even though it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, you’re having a significant effect on the opposing offense and doing your job to help the players in coverage behind you.

Owen Riese, a graduate assistant offensive line coach at UW-Whitewater, looked at what Benton was able to do against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship and recognized the flashes of dominance Benton showed as only a true freshman.

Benton, No. 95 lined up to our left of the center, bodies the right guard coming off the line with a strong punch, disengages from the block, meets Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins in the hole and forces him to cut back into the middle right into the waiting arms of Burrell and Sanborn.

Though this doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, Benton completely blew up the direction of the run play and bought time for the linebacker and safety behind him to come up and make a play on the ball carrier.

This all not mentioning the fact he powered through an All-American offensive lineman in Wyatt Davis, a guy ranked by TheDraftNetwork as the No. 19 overall prospect for the 2021 NFL Draft.

Riese continues to the next play, an arguably more impressive rep for the Badger defensive lineman

Benton followed up his play in run defense with a pass-rush rep where he engages with Ohio State center Josh Myers, TheDraftNetwork’s No. 35 prospect for the 2021 NFL Draft, has the strength to rip through the block, has the speed to squeeze through the incoming double team and finishes the play with a sack on quarterback Justin Fields.

These flashes of brilliance point towards a breakout sophomore campaign for Benton as he continues to develop physically and gain experience at the college level.

Leonhard will definitely need it as he obviously said goodbye to two defensive leaders in Zack Baun and Chris Orr after the 2019 season, guys who accounted for much of the 2019 unit’s sack and turnover production.

Wisconsin hasn’t had a premier defensive tackle in years with the last player drafted at the position being Beau Allen in 2014 and the last player drafted at the position higher than the sixth round being Wendell Bryant in the first round in 2002. Given what we saw on the field from him as only a true freshman, Benton has a shot at joining that list and even one at making a real impact at the next level.