Going into PITT’s 2012 season PITT fans were stating that our running game was going to be the biggest strength of our offense and that there were no worries on that front.  This was partly because we had a returning senior in Ray Graham who is one of the best running backs in the nation and we just landed true freshman Rushel Shell, the all-time leading PA schoolboy rusher.

Great!  On paper fantastic!  However the reality of the situation was, is actually, quite different.  Graham suffered a season ending ACL tear that put him in a long rehab so there’s a real concern regarding when he can get back to full speed and Shell is totally unproven at the college level.  Thus the two best known backs we have are questionable leaving us with two returning and relatively unknown youngsters to fill the bill.  They are Malcolm Crockett, who in redshirting last year hasn’t taken a snap during a game yet, and Isaac Bennett, who got spare playing time late in the season as a true freshman.

But now, on August 16th and only 16 days before PITT’s opener not too many people are worried any longer.  Why you may ask? It’s because one player has stepped up and assuaged the fears.

One of the most newsworthy stories coming out of PITT’s spring practices and this summer’s training camp has been the play of running back Isaac Bennett.  If you’ll remember, during last season when Ray Graham went down with a torn ACL Bennett was called upon to be PITT’s second back behind SR Zach Brown.

Not an easy thing for a true freshman running back to take on but he jumped in and played serviceable ball in getting 237 yards on 58 carries for a 4.1 average.  He also had some success in receiving with 88 yards on 14 catches.  Considering he didn’t play at all until the ninth game of the season that isn’t too bad and what it did the most was give him confidence that he could contribute at the college level. Trial by fire as it were.

Fast forward to April of this year when our spring practices started and Bennett is the default #1 RB by virtue of Graham’s injury and Brown’s graduation.  Bennett is the only RB on the team with any D1 carries.  You’d think that with that little bit of experience and his young age there would still be a large learning curve ahead of him, wouldn’t you?  Bennett apparently never hear that before.

Now, understanding that past performances are not indicative of future profits, Bennett is breaking out in a big way and looking like he’ll not only fill in admirably but excel.  His practices and scrimmages have been nothing short of sensational.  It seems like each day we are seeing Bennett break a long gainer for a TD.  It happens so regulary now it’s almost expected of him when it happens.

“Training Camp Report Day Five:  Blah, blah, blah… blah, blah.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Bennett ran in another touchdown from 45 yards out.”  

Bennett’s running style isn’t extraordinary really.  He isn’t a bruisng power back but has good strength when going between the tackles.  He’s not in the Dorsett or McCoy mold where he ‘breaks defender’s ankles‘ with startling moves but he can shift direction and speed well enough to create distance once past the line.  When he does that, gets to second level territory, he has speed enough to finish the play.  He’s listed as having a 4.5s 40 yard dash but I wonder about that.  He’s fast but his talent isn’t just pure speed like it is with some running backs.

Really it’s just a combination of good solid running back skills in a player who is well aware of where he is on the field at all times and who rarely gets stuffed behind the LOS.

But you should see him go out there.  On one play last Saturday he got through the LOS, dipped his right shoulder to freeze the safety and broke down the left sidelines for a huge gain.  Smooth and surprisngly quick in his decision making.

The coaching staff is giddy with his play and they have to a right to be.  They now have a RB who can, at the very least, not only fill in for Graham but get positive yardage when he carries the ball.  This give them the luxury of doing two things; it allows Ray Graham to return to full speed play at his own pace and it takes the pressure of having to thrust Rushel Shell into playing as a true freshman.  Instead Shell can compete with Malcolm Crockett for that 3rd RB slot without the pressure of being PITT’s savior.  Those are big deals not only for this season but for the future also.

So who is this kid?

Bennett was a 5’11” 190 tailback recruited by Todd Graham out of Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, OK.  Not PITT’s normal recruiting grounds but an area that Todd Graham was very familiar with and Bennett was a player that he wanted for sometime.  I remember Graham being estatic when Bennett committed and we all were wondering what the excitement was all about.

As a senior Bennett gained 1400 yards while missing four games due to injury with an average of 9.6 ypc.  His rushing helped Booker T. Washington HS win the Oklahoma state title also.  Take a look at his senior year highlights, the runs he’s breaking there are much like we are seeing now.

Those are solid numbers for sure but he was almost totally unheralded by the recruiting services; getting two stars and unranked nationally by Rivals and two stars and the 151st RB nationally by Scouts.  In addition, other Div 1 schools passed on offering him scholarships save Tulsa (Graham’s old school) and ULM, whatever that is.  Talk about an ‘under the radar’ player huh?

As far as PITT was concerned this kid came out of nowhere and wasn’t expected to do much until maybe later on in his career.  All the above said, it is still early and the season hasn’t started yet so anything can happen but the stars are aligned for Isaac Bennett to be very productive for us.  I’d bet on it happening.