{"id":14870,"date":"2023-08-27T13:14:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-27T18:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=14870"},"modified":"2023-08-27T13:14:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-27T18:14:01","slug":"breaking-the-rock-just-one-more-symbol-of-how-far-florida-state-rb-trey-benson-has-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/breaking-the-rock-just-one-more-symbol-of-how-far-florida-state-rb-trey-benson-has-come\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking the rock just one more symbol of how far Florida State RB Trey Benson has come"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Florida State officially ended preseason camp 12 months ago, Trey Benson<\/a><\/strong> didn\u2019t completely believe in himself. So how could each of his teammates and coaches have full confidence that he could be the Seminoles\u2019 top running back?<\/p>\n

As good as he looked during preseason practice, Benson had carried the ball a grand total of six times during his previous two years at Oregon. He was still learning the nuances of Mike Norvell\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> offense. And there were questions about how confident he would be about taking direct hits on his surgically repaired knee.<\/p>\n

Doubts were coming from seemingly every direction.<\/p>\n

One year later, the situation could not be any different.<\/p>\n

Benson is coming off a breakthrough season that saw him rush for 990 yards, catch 13 passes and also return a kickoff for a touchdown. He enters 2023 as one of two starting tailbacks on the Preseason All-ACC Team<\/strong><\/a>. And after working to break out of his quiet tendencies and become a Florida State team leader, he was chosen Saturday night to, \u201cbreak the rock,\u201d and signify the conclusion of preseason camp.<\/p>\n

\n\n

Fall camp isn\u2019t officially complete until a rock gets broken@trey_uno1<\/a> #NoleFamily<\/a> | #KeepCLIMBing<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QOrqD9JtHf<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 FSU Football (@FSUFootball) August 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

The idea that Benson would be chosen for that honor \u2014 one year after he came to FSU as an unknown commodity \u2014 surprised even the Seminoles\u2019 star running back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Whoa, it\u2019s me?’\u201d Benson said with a smile. \u201cBut that\u2019s great. I\u2019m blessed to be able to break the rock after fall camp. I\u2019m just ready to go with the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida State strength and conditioning coach Josh Storms typically chooses the player who breaks the rock after the team successfully accomplishes significant goals. The Seminoles do it following big wins and after different parts of the year, such as the completion of spring practice and fall camp.<\/p>\n

Norvell said this month of preseason practice was so impressive that a number of players could have received the honor. But he indicated none would have been more deserving than Benson.<\/p>\n

Despite being one of the superstar players on a team that is ranked No. 8 in the country, teammates say Benson has approached each practice just as if he was the unheralded player who arrived in Tallahassee in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis spirit, mentality, work ethic \u2026 he\u2019s a great teammate,\u201d Norvell said. \u201cWhat I see and appreciate is just the impact on those around him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benson admits that being a team leader is not necessarily one of his natural gifts. Unlike his roommate and close friend Jared Verse<\/a><\/strong>, the Mississippi native is not a big talker on or off the field.<\/p>\n

But with veteran tailback Treshaun Ward having left for Kansas State during the offseason, Benson has tried to add being more vocal to his repertoire. He still is much more comfortable leading by example, but if encouraging or demanding words need to be spoken, Benson is making that effort. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had to step out of my comfort zone a little more this fall camp,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to. They look at me as a leader. \u2026 I had to step into that leadership role.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Florida State\u2019s highly anticipated showdown with No. 5 LSU looming just one week from today, Benson is eager to show how far he has come as a player as well.<\/p>\n

In last year\u2019s game against the Tigers, just his second as a Seminole, Benson was virtually a non-factor. Florida State won the game, but he carried the ball six times for 15 yards. He was far from the featured back who would rush for at least 100 yards in four of the Seminoles\u2019 final six games of 2022.<\/p>\n

In some ways, that feels like a lifetime ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just more experienced,\u201d Benson said. \u201cLast year, that was like my second game ever really playing [college] football. \u2026 Coming in this year, I\u2019ve got more experience. I\u2019m gonna be way more confident this year because of the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now fully fluent in Norvell\u2019s offense, Benson said the game feels slower to him these days. He, meanwhile, continues to get bigger and faster.<\/p>\n

The Seminoles\u2019 leading rusher now carries 223 pounds on his 6-foot, 1-inch frame. One year ago, he was listed at 215.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel great,\u201d Benson said of his added size. \u201cHaven\u2019t lost speed. I think I got faster, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n

When prodded for more information about his top-end speed, the soft-spoken running back says he was timed at a blazing 22.9 mph on a 43-yard run against Duquesne in his first game as a Seminole.<\/p>\n

After breaking the rock on Saturday, Benson admitted he\u2019d like to smash another barrier \u2014 23 mph \u2014 in this year\u2019s opener against LSU.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m gonna try to hit it Sunday,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no reason for doubt anymore.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.<\/strong><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

The post Breaking the rock just one more symbol of how far Florida State RB Trey Benson has come<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Florida State officially ended preseason camp 12 months ago, Trey Benson didn\u2019t completely believe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14870\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}