(Devin Benford 6-4 215 Jr. LB/DE Skyline) |
A player who has really burst on the scene this offseason has been Skyline (Sammamish) DE/LB Devin Benford. With his long arms and huge frame, the talented prospect has started to draw some interest with his workouts this spring and Northwest Elite Index was able to speak to him recently to get the scoop on how things are going…
“It’s been a good offseason for me and for my team really,” Benford, a 6’4″, 210-pounder, told NEI at a recent event. “It has been a great time for us to bond and for us to just get better in all phases of the game. We push each other to get better, so it’s been real productive.”
After earning Sophomore of the Year honors in 2010 while playing for a small 3A program in Texas, Benford and his family headed north and this past season he was very productive posting 64 tackles (42 solo) from his outside linebacker spot.
“I mainly played outside linebacker, but I can move around and be versatile if that’s what the coaches need from me,” Benford said. “I need to get stronger and get bigger so I can handle things a little better.”
On the recruiting front, Benford hasn’t received an offer to this point, but he plans to hit the camp and combine circuit this spring/summer in order to show schools and coaches what he can do.
“Washington, Oregon State, Idaho and Washington State are the schools I’ve been hearing from the most so far,” Benford said. “There are a lot of other schools showing me interest, like Wyoming, UCLA, Oregon, schools like that, but they’ve mainly been talking to my coaches”.
“I know I need to get out to events and show people what I can do. I’m going to hit a lot of camps this summer, but I just haven’t looked at the dates and times, so I’m not really sure yet which ones I plan on going to. I am going to try and hit the Barton camp at Issaquah (May 20th) just to see where I’m at and I’ll probably hit camps for some different schools, but like I said I just haven’t had a chance to sit down and work out a schedule yet.”
Because Benford is such a big-time athlete with the desire to get better, the sky is the limit for him. Now he just needs to show schools what he can do and we at NEI are confident he will be a player to watch as his stock rises this spring and summer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suf1oMjjdfo
