Name: Rayshaun Benny
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 292 lbs.
High school: Oak Park (MI) Oak Park
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #26
Last year: I ranked Benny #64 and said he would be a backup defensive tackle (LINK). He played in three games and made 3 tackles.
TTB Rating: 81
Benny spent the 2021 season changing his body a little bit and learning to be a full-time defensive lineman. He played in three games, which allowed him to keep his redshirt. Luckily, Michigan stayed pretty healthy on the defensive line, so the Wolverines didn't need to burn any unnecessary redshirts. There were some positive comments coming out from behind the scenes, and Benny was tough to handle for the offensive line in the spring game.
Michigan lost Chris Hinton, Jr. to the NFL in the off-season, and Benny should see some increased playing time because of it. The team also received a transfer in the form of UCF defensive tackle Cam Goode, but Goode is a little undersized and I don't think he will get all of Hinton's snaps. I think new defensive line coach Mike Elston will get Benny up to speed and he should be a pretty solid rotator at defensive tackle behind Kris Jenkins, Jr.
Prediction: Backup defensive tackle
I'm excited to see what Benny can do and feel optimistic. Like Anthony, he's a sophomore who is making noise, at a position group where it's more likely to be driven by merit rather than need. Granted, Benny hasn't done it in games so it's based on speculation and hype. I think that the tea leaves are enough to project a breakout season of sorts.
ReplyDeleteI hope he would end up higher than this in a hypothetical post-season TTB rank. DT (like CB, RB, WR) is one of those spots where rotation is frequent and a top backup is often a quasi-starter. Last year it was just one guy (Jeter) and the starters got leaned on for maybe too long. I'd love to see a return to the all-time great '16 DL where you could rotate freely between 4 options Glasgow/Mone/Hurst/Godin, not to mention Wormley at SDE. With that line you didn't worry about a dropoff, it was more like picking a flavor.
Anyway, I'd typically look for our 3rd and 4th IDL to be ranked in the 20s. Benny hasn't earned that though and there are a few other options (e.g., Graham, Rooks, etc) - enough that the coaches felt OK moving Welschof out of the spot.
If Smith/Jenkins/Goode are all healthy it's possible that Benny doesn't have to play a big role but I'm buying the hype and think he'll be in the rotation. Hopefully he's on the stardom track and we feel great about him stepping in as a starter next year.
I see Benny (at 40) and even Persi (43) in a very different light than McGregor (41) even though none of them have actually produced anything just yet.
Mazi is going to be my #1. I think with our DEs being solid players who don't necessarily generate much organic pass rush, it's going to have to come from blitzers or the interior. I'm certainly not expecting double digit sacks from a guy weighing nearly 340, Jenkins is a big piece of the puzzle, so is Colson, but Mazi is the rock in the middle of it all. I'm optimistic about projections with the young backups (including Benny) but none of them are ready to be a star like Mazi.
DeleteMike Elston better be a great coach. D Line middle has SUCKED since Greg Mattison left. I'd take him back yesterday.
ReplyDeleteFall Roster weights and heights are out. Some of them are pretty interesting.
ReplyDeleteMost notable as far as I was concerned is Cam Goode at 6'2" 323. Which isn't all that undersized as long as a high percentage, by D Line guy standards, is the much coveted "good weight", Mason Graham is at 317, Ike Iwunnah is now at 321. We are no longer undersized across our interior defensive line. Actually, we're pretty damn big and that's before considering Mazi at 337 and Kenneth Graham at over 350.
The question is gonna be, can they carry that weight and still run?
Then, Welschof is down over 20 lbs, I think they're gonna try sending him after the football. I know I would. Morris is now up over 290. Not sure if that is good, bad or indifferent. Going with indifferent.
Finally, I don't think the interior D Line sucked last year. They did what the system called for them to do, stay home, muck up the middle and free up our generational DE's to terrorize from the outside. I frankly thought that they played well. They will have to do more this year, but I liked the work they did last year.
Yeah '21 D line was good. Jeter got better each year incrementally and was a solid player by year 5. Having Hutch demand doubles made everyone better.
DeleteMason Graham over 300 is incredibly good news. Will Johnson said he looked way better against Victor Oluwatimi in the Spring Game than a freshman should. He also said if he keeps progressing like he is he will be a 1st Round Draft pick.
DeleteIt's not where you start it's where you finish.
DeleteGuys like Chris Wormley and Frank Clark came in light but added weight and became excellent players - Kris Jenkins appears to be on a similar track. On the other end Tarik Black and Zach Carpenter came in pretty ready to play as freshman but then got passed.
I'm excited about Graham and his start is encouraging but he's probably not needed this year so it's all about where he ends up.