The story behind star running backs and their offensive linemen is one of the more unique ones in all sports. The relationship is not different at Arizona State where star running back Eno Benjamin never forgets to “give back” to the young men who last fall helped pave his way to college stardom in Tempe.
“I feel like, the more time you spend with them, the more you do stuff with them makes them like you more,” Benjamin said to Sports360AZ.com. “That means how much harder they’ll block for you.”
The Sun Devils’ big men helped the talented back rush for 1,642 yards and 16 touchdowns last fall as head coach Herm Edwards restructured the ASU offense to cater to Benjamin’s skills.
The offensive linemen even catch themselves watching their star a bit.
“Yes, I do, I can’t lie,” versatile senior offensive lineman and former Gilbert High standout Steven Miller said flashing a wide grin. “There was one play against Utah where he hopped out of a tackle, broke two guys off and ran around them…it was smooth. He’s real smooth.”
Apparently in Tempe, honesty is the best policy when admitting guilt.
“You can go back and watch it on a few plays.” steady senior lineman Kohl Cabral said with a slight smirk. “If you look at the last time he scored in the Utah game, the majority of us are just standing there like, ‘it’s just like every other day. It wasn’t new to us.’ Just because it’s become such a regular thing with him. He can make something out of nothing. It’s surprises me every time but at the end of the day it’s like, ‘what did you expect from Eno?'”
Behind the scenes of 400 yards rushing and 0 sacks. Guys up front got it after it last night! S/O to @eno_benjamin5 for making us look good#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/zPUrvzIsCP
— Charlie Renfree (@CharlieRenfree) October 1, 2018
One surprise that may have caught Cabral and the other big men off-guard was when Benjamin took his entire starting offensive line to Mastro’s Steakhouse after his 30 carry/312-yard/three touchdown performance in a blowout win over Oregon State last September at Sun Devil Stadium.
Benjamin joked his wallet didn’t take quite the beating that evening because not all of the linemen eat red meat.
Now the only thing they’re looking to eat is every opponent on ASU’s schedule, starting with Kent State on August 29th.
“Everyone knows what’s a stake, we have a veteran offensive line group,” Benjamin explained. “They know what’s on the line and I think we all have same mindset.”
Hopefully, more celebratory nice dinners as a group this fall.
That bond is hard to break.
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Eric Sorenson
A Valley native, Eric has had a passion for the Arizona sports scene since an early age. He has covered some of the biggest events including Super Bowls, national championships and the NBA and MLB playoffs in his near 20 years in local media.