Benjamin takes on recruiting challenge
Eno Benjamin is always looking for the next challenge.
The recruiting process was a challenge for Eno Benjamin. The four star running back from Texas approached it with the same mentality he does when he ran for 2,652 yards and 41 touchdowns at Wylie East High School. He attacked it, studied it, and found a home for the future last month when he verbally committed to the University of Iowa.
These days he’s on to the next challenge as he attempt to persuade other top 2017 prospects, particularly in the state of Texas, to join him in Iowa City.
“I just feel like it’s a challenge for me and how I can help to impact the program and how those guys can impact the program,” Benjamin said.
His philosophy is very simple, Benjamin is a very talented prospect out of Texas and why not try to get other talented prospects join him and fellow four star, A.J. Epenesa on the future Iowa roster and build a strong team for 2017 and beyond.
Once you talk to Benjamin and get to know him, you can tell right away why he is draw for other players. He’s a veteran of the camp circuit and a well-known player in the state of Texas. He also played on select soccer and basketball teams growing up, so he’s become familiar with quite a few prep standouts thru athletics.
More importantly, he has a magnetic personality that draws others in with something as simple as a smile.
“I guess you could say that people are comfortable with me,” Benjamin said. “I just like smiling and I think that’s a good way to get the attention of other people and I like to open up to people a little bit. Then I think once I get talking to them, I can persuade them a little bit.”
His production, coupled with his personality have become a big factor in Benjamin having an impact on this current crop of recruits that are considering Iowa, especially in the Lone Star state. Benjamin is working hard on Kamron Fields, a QB from Garland, TX. It’s also having an impact on wide receivers Shamond Greenwood (teammate of Fields), Camron Buckley (Cedar Hill, TX), and Braydon Johnson (Ft. Worth, TX). He’s also reaching outside of the boarders of Texas and developing a relationship with three star wide receiver Maurice Bell from California, who will be deciding next month.
“Kameron Fields has been receptive to it. He took a visit there and afterwards, he knew exactly what I was saying about Iowa. I think it’s just a matter of time for him and the other recruits just need to get up there to get that same feeling.”
That feeling that Benjamin talks about it getting prospects on the Iowa campus so they can see for themselves that Iowa City isn’t just cornfields and cattle, but a well-rounded college environment with top of the line football facilities to improve and grow as an athlete. It’s what the four star back and US Army All American calls “facts” about Iowa.
“I let them know the facts. I let them know that Iowa isn’t what some people think it is,” Benjamin said. “When we hear Iowa down in Texas or other places, we think of farms and there are farms, but Iowa City is a beautiful place. And the facilities are right there with the best programs in the country. They are just as good as what Texas A&M has down here.”
Benjamin has taken on the theme that Kirk Ferentz has preached for many years, that the biggest hurdle is simply getting a prospect on the Iowa campus and then they understand that Iowa is much more than their perception.
“I had to see it and it was exactly what the Iowa coaches said and more. Kameron Fields saw that when he went there for the spring game. He took a visit there and afterwards, he knew exactly what I was saying about Iowa. I think it’s just a matter of time for him and the other recruits that just need to get up there to get that same feeling.”
The Iowa coaches have been fully supportive of Benjamin’s recruiting efforts. They let him know about prospects they are recruiting and let him go to work on them with his recruiting angle. He plans on being in Iowa City once again in late June when the Hawkeyes host a big recruiting weekend with a number of prospects (committed and uncommitted) on campus.
“I will be there in June and I will be recruiting for the Hawkeyes,” he said.
The Hawkeyes currently have ten commitments in the Class of 2017 and are ranked 15th nationally by Rivals.com. With potentially more than half the class already in place, Benjamin is looking to help Iowa finish strong with one of the best recruiting classes in many years.
“My goal is to help make this the best recruiting class we have ever had.”
Given what Benjamin has already done in getting top prospects interested and scheduling visits to Iowa, who knows, he might just be one of the keys to Iowa having their best recruiting class in more than a decade.