My deepest apologies to Shaun Nua. Within days of Michigan reaffirming their commitment to their oft-maligned defensive line coach, Nua reeled in three of Michigan’s top priorities in the defensive trenches. That includes flipping the one in-state 4-star most critical to establishing credibility in the state of Michigan for Mel Tucker’s Michigan State program.

While Michigan led for most of the cycle, MSU came in with guns blazing, offering to make Benny face of the program, and focusing on the branding potential of being Top Sparty in a world where athletes own their own likeness rights. Benny committed to MSU shortly after they upset the Wolverines last fall.

That commitment however proved as fleeting as Ricky White’s Biletnikoff campaign. Benny did not sign with the other Spartan commits on Early Signing Day in December, maintained he was “excited to sign with Michigan State” right up until yesterday, and announced his commitment to Michigan on Wednesday. Sam Webb said the staff shakeout absolutely affected things:

“Him not singing in December was huge for Michigan. It allowed the coaching situation to work itself out. Michigan, they persisted through his commitment, even through the season. Sherrone Moore and Shaun Nua kept it up. They have a great relationship, they have a great relationship with Rayshaun’s mom. That's number one. Number two, you have to give Shaun Nua a ton of credit. He worked tirelessly on this recruitment….when it became clear that he might not be back, Michigan's pursuit was in jeopardy.

…though this was a long, top-priority recruitment that connected with Benny’s mom, let Benny choose his side of the ball, and retained the coaches (and some of the players) Benny felt most connected to.

Also MSU’s defensive line is probably their most solid part of the depth chart, and unlike other positions of need they actually have recruits there with working circulatory systems and everything.

Just go easy on Scott Tenorman’s tears, is what I’m saying. You don’t want to ruin your dinner.

GURU RATINGS

Rivals	ESPN	247	247 Comp
4*, 5.9, #98 OVR, #9 DT, #5 MI	4*, 80, NR OVR, #19 DT, #30 MW, #8 MI	4*, 91, #212 OVR, #16 DT, #7 MI	4*, 0.9213, #195 OVR, #16 DT, #6 MI
4.50*	4.03*	4.14*	4.22*

Bottom row is my conversion of the above to a 5-star scale. Links are to profiles.

On average this is a significant step above Rooks; Benny is ranked about where Mike Martin was, though there are some similarities to how the various sites viewed Alan Branch and Quinton Washington, both of whom were OL/DL prospects that the recruiters preferred on offense. That includes many of the schools talking to Benny a year ago, including Ohio State, Penn State, and Notre Dame, and Rivals. The 24/7 staff seemed to know Benny’s preference for defensive line before some of those schools. Rivals was finally admitting the preference by June, but kept Benny ranked as an offensive tackle through December. They also remain highest on his potential, with ESPN ranking him more of a regular ol’ 4-star and 24/7 splitting the difference. ESPN and Rivals have him at 270, while 24/7 lists his weight at 275.

[After the JUMP: Not just LMFAO gifs]

SCOUTING

24/7’s Sam Webb seemed to be two steps ahead of even the schools the whole way with this one, so we can start with his site. Allen Trieu sees a body that can punch the clock early, but with his best football ahead of him:

Two-way high school player who was recruited on both sides of the ball but became more of a defensive recruit as his recruitment went along. Has filled in to 275 pounds with solid length and enough room to be able to add more pounds. As a sophomore, he was standing up and playing on the edge. He will likely be more of a strong-side end or a full-time three-tech defensive tackle in college. He gets off the ball with good quickness and is able to maintain good pad level. Has gotten stronger in the lower body and that shows up in his bull-rush. As he concentrates more on defensive line solely, he will develop with his hands and technique there more. But he is a high major prospect and could have been that on either side of the ball. Figures to be an early contributor in his career and a potential draft pick.

The player comp they give is Quinton Jefferson, the 300-pound former Maryland 3-tech you don’t remember because nobody remembers anything from that game except the weird weather and Willie Henry about to eat a small child playing quarterback. Jefferson caught on in his second stint with Seattle as a versatile 3- or 5-tech and was one of the league’s most productive interior pass rushers for a couple of years.

Trieu’s more local comparison is to another highly ranked DE/DT who became a DT in Ann Arbor:

Build wise and skill set wise, I think he shares some similarities with Chris Hinton if Wolverine fans want an idea of how he can be used. He is an active defender who will chase down plays. He can penetrate with his first step and was also an outstanding offensive lineman in high school to the point that we thought he was a four-star on either side of the football.

At the time of the MSU commitment Trieu explained why the talk was so focused on offense:

Where he will have to improve is the technique of playing defensive line. He only started playing with his hand down more as a junior and then missed a good portion of his senior year. Combine that with a previous concentration on offense, and he still has room to grow and learn as an interior defensive lineman.

The scouting report until then was on offensive line. I still have the copy from Benny’s page at the time:

Build wise, he looks like an inside-outside swing guy on the hoof. Has played both sides of the ball in high school and plays with tenacity and has good functional strength already. Runs his feet on contact and plays with good balance. Has good feet and athleticism in pass protection but has to get stronger in his punch and improve hand technique. Can play guard or right tackle in college. Natural athleticism and intangibles are that of a multi-year Power 5 starter and will have an opportunity to play on Sunday.

Trieu wasn’t sold even then on offensive line, however. Here’s his scouting report from Benny’s game versus West Bloomfield as a junior:

Known more as an offensive tackle recruit, he made plays on defense also. I think he can play defensive line at a major school in college, but his length and athleticism is intriguing on offense.

Oak Park’s head coach Greg Carter sent 4-star NT Marquan McCall (who’s now listed at 379) and 5-star DT Justin Rogers to Kentucky, and Ja’Raymond Hall to Michigan in recent years. Carter includes Benny among the great ursii:

“I think he’s one of the best linemen I’ve ever had. … I think the sky is the limit. He has enough quickness to play on the edge but he’s strong enough to play on the interior as a three technique. He’s only going to get better.

… He knows how to set the edge when playing defensive end, he handles double teams well when playing inside. He’s a versatile kid that can do anything he sets his mind to.

…. “I think he’s just tenacious,” Carter said. “He plays with an edge. He’s one of the nicest kids but after school he has that switch on practice and game days. He’s a tough guy and he wants everyone to know it.”

The school’s OL coach, Will McMichael, echoes this picture of a teddy bear off the field who turns into a bad-tempered grizzly on it:

“I think he could be the best out of all of them,” McMichael said of Benny. “It’s because of his work ethic. Off the field he’s mild mannered. On the field he’s a monster. He just clicks on when he’s on the field. He wants to bury you.”

McMichael gave a similar quote to ND’s site.

Rivals’ EJ Holland covers recruiting, not scouting, but that hasn’t stopped him from seeing a lot of Michigan high school football and forming opinions on the guys he’s watched, which is particularly interesting when he’s saying pay no attention to local five-star who just left for Tuscaloosa:

I love Benny as a player. As you recall, I once said Benny was the best prospect in the state of Michigan this cycle. Of course, that was before Donovan Edwards went bananas this season. Still, I would rank Benny right up there with Alabama signee Damon Payne and definitely ahead of guys like Rocco Spindler and Garrett Dellinger. Benny was terrific in-game as a junior. I love his length, strength and athleticism in the trenches. He also still has a high ceiling. His best days are ahead of him.

The big question with Rivals—the guys who get to rate the recruits—was how much of their top-100 ranking was projecting Benny to offense. This was Midwest analyst Josh Helmholdt when Benny committed to MSU in November:

We rate Benny as an offensive line prospect because that is the side of the football where we see his greatest potential, but many of the things that make him a great offensive lineman also translate to defensive line. Michigan State is talking with Benny about manning both their 5-technique defensive end role and 3-technique defensive tackle role at times. He can project to both positions because of his unique blend of size and athleticism. In fact, it is that well-roundedness of his game that makes Benny such a highly-sought prospect. He does so many things well and has so few weaknesses that he provides unique versatility and should be able to impact early in his career. For a defensive line comparison, Michigan State fans should see many similarities to Raequan Williams.

Williams was a fave-rave of mine because of how well he used his long arms and quick feet to ruin zone blocking, but never put up good stats because he was surrounded by Panasiuks.

Benny popped onto their radars during the recruitment of 5-star teammate Justin Rogers, at which point Midwest analyst Josh Helmholdt made the case for Benny to move up among their top-250, albeit at OL:

Junior Rayshaun Benny is deserving of increased hype. Like Rogers, Benny plays on both lines for Oak Park, but his highest upside is on the offensive line. Even though he started as a four-star, he has outplayed his rating this season.

Benny did make the top-100, at #83, and national analyst Mike Farrell explained the reasoning curtly:

Very good athlete who has a great frame to fill out and who also makes plays on defense.

He would later add that Benny “has the highest ceiling” among elite in-state OL prospects Giovanni El-Hadi and the two Clarkston stars. This went on all summer…

“Elite left tackle prospect with great feet and a violent punch … also an impactful defender” –Illinois guy Doug Bucshon.

…with DL sometimes not mentioned at all.

This fall Austin Fox took a trip to my alma mater, Groves, when Benny was sidelined with a knee injury, and saw a guy Harbaugh won’t have to tell to clap($):

…he basically served as a player/coach in a lot of ways. He was spotted talking strategy with one of the assistant coaches at one point, and was later the first guy over to an injured teammate, asking him what was wrong and offering him water.

ESPN national recruiting director Tom Luginbill doesn’t comment on guys outside of the region they cover very often, but he did look up north to congratulate the school that got a commitment from Benny.

I also want to mention the opinion of the grouchy Michigan high school coach all of X’s and O’s twitter follows:

Best defensive lineman I coached against last year. Legit baller. https://t.co/a4OfOSiQdj

— James Light (@JamesALight) February 3, 2021

Light coached Dakota until December then joined De la Salle for their playoff run, so he didn’t have to gameplan for Bama-bound Belleville five-star Damon Payne. It’s still high praise.

OFFERS

This is one recruitment where the pandemic might have done Michigan a favor, as Benny had widespread national interest and adamantly wanted to visit any school he seriously considered. As of ten months ago Rivals thought Michigan was behind Penn State, MSU, and Tennessee. It was about that time it came out that Benny really preferred defense, where Michigan and Iowa were recruiting him.

Ohio State’s interest was real, albeit as a second option on offensive line; Benny was set to visit Columbus two weeks after the lockdown went in place last March. Penn State and Notre Dame had him among their Tier 1 OL recruits, and Nebraska, LSU, Auburn, and Arkansas were pushing, the latter due to a strong relationship with assistant Brad Davis, going back to when Davis was at Missouri. Steve Clinkscale, the Kentucky DBs coach no Michigan school has yet managed to pry out of there or Southeast Michigan recruitments, was on Benny for years. FSU, Georgia, and Texas A&M were also involved.

He also admitted to Rivals’ EJ Holland that the path to the field in Ann Arbor was a big consideration. New staffs at Texas and Vanderbilt were reaching out late.

HIGH SCHOOL

No *You* offer to write these to talk about local geography, history, and personalities.

Oak Park is one of the Detroit suburbs, a small one perched just on top of that little northwestern corner of Detroit proper. Hoppin’ Royal Oak and Ferndale claim Woodward a mile to the east, and my original hometown of Southfield to the west and Berkley to the north squeeze “the Opies” into a few square miles surrounding a park where our softball teams play. If you’ve been to the Detroit Zoo you’ve almost certainly driven past its quaint residential neighborhoods from Midwest central casting. Marty Wilk’s infamous Excalibur Restaurant has been closed for some time (always be kind to your wait staff).

The Knights are a new power in the evolving Detroit area public scheme, though they badly needed Benny this year, losing all six regular season games without him, then going on a four-game playoff winning streak with him, finally falling to James Light’s Pilots in a thrilling overtime D2 semifinal.

I mentioned coach Greg Carter, who’s another Detroit area legend. He was a local (Mackenzie High) baseball star who was coming up through the minors with Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker until the organization moved their 1974 first round pick, Lance Parrish, to Carter’s position of catcher. After baseball Carter started coaching at St Martin de Porres, then a state superpower under Thomp Thompson. Eventually Carter succeeded his mentor and won three state titles of his own.

When de Porres closed Carter relocated to Inkster and built that program into a regular contender, thanks in part to star transfer QB Devin Gardner. Shortly after it became clear Inkster too was closing, and Carter took over Oak Park in 2011, quickly building them into contenders as well. Before Carter, the school’s highest rated recruit was MSU’s Edwin Baker. Since then they’ve produced the two afore mentioned Kentucky linemen, 4-star WR Maliq Carr (Purdue), 4* QB D’wan Mathis (Georgia->Temple), 4* safety Enzo Jennings (PSU), 4* RB John Kelly (Tennessee), and former Michigan/CMU OL Ja’Raymond Hall. They’re sending a churny, fumbles-a-lot 3-star RB to MSU this year, and 2022 CB Glenie Cross is a Power Five prospect.

After watching film I was kind of surprised #5 WR/CB Ky’Shaun Jackson isn’t at least a PWO somewhere. Last minute of his Hudl film is blocking. Cumong!

STATS

Benny only played in five games this year, missing some big ones due to injury earlier in the year, but produced 32 tackles, 11 TFLs, and 5.5 sacks.

FAKE 40 TIME

No 40 time, is DL who is OL who is DL. No 40. Also fake.

VIDEO

Here’s Benny’s first game back from injury, Oak Park’s playoff victory over Will Johnson’s Grosse Pointe South team. You will also recognize the guy on the call, or you can skip to the first time they ran at him at 24:22.

Senior highlights:

The first DL play on that is at 0:48 and is a beaut. Two plays later should be illegal. His more impressive junior tape, as well as sophomore highlights and single-game reels, can be found on his Hudl page.

ETC

Ryan Day keeps a list of players they think are on Michigan’s board. Benny, J.J. McCarthy, Donovan Edwards, and Greg Crippen are the Michigan recruits this cycle who were getting serious interest from That School Down South Plus a Jog East After Findlay That Michigan Would Have Beaten Last Year.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Before I watched the film I thought I would discover one of those NCAA Football ATHs who’s a 76 at guard and a 72 at defensive tackle. His national offer list was certainly based on his potential on the offensive line, and you could draw a short line from his choice to play defense, through the lack of visit opportunities elsewhere, to Michigan’s dire needs at DT to explain how a program in seeming disarray was able to shoo off Ohio State, the SEC, and all the resources the new staff at Michigan State could muster.

Then I read the recruiting articles emphasizing that Harbaugh’s staff made Benny a Devin Bush Jr.-level priority, and considered either Michigan knows something, or is just that desperate to win a DT battle in their home state. Then I watched the film, and I think it’s both.

The problem with the tape should be obvious: he’s been playing left tackle for a very good program for three years. As a fresh-faced sophomore Benny was pushed out the blind side against that River Rouge kid who now plays for Clemson, and survived. Then he thrived. He was also out there at left tackle ever play, versus rotating onto the field on defense—and rarely inside—to stay fresh. His feet move. The guys he’s blocking move. He even has good pad level. People, NOBODY at this level has good pad level.

On defense he’s been playing end, because that’s where you put your best lineman in these leagues. Then he got optioned all day, because everybody in these leagues runs a pistol zone read offense that options or runs away everybody’s best lineman. The scouts watch a few minutes of this, shrug at the square in a two-point stance, and make some comments about how well he chases down the play called “Run the hell away from that guy!” Occasionally an offensive coordinator thinks to run a counter to RTHAFTG, one of his kids runs into a brick wall, and our coordinator chastenedly turns to the passing portion of his playbook.

kid on one knee just went doink

Also occasionally you put your own That Guy on the interior and the offense says “Thanks.”

Chris Hinton went through that, and everyone was ready to drop him to a fringe four-star until he got some run at defensive tackle in a super-high Georgia league. Rayshaun Benny got five games that were more like four in a COVID season, held some edges, and caved a few more on offense.

So I don’t know if he’s got a first step when his hand’s in the dirt, and he probably doesn’t know what to do with his hands yet. The athleticism that earned an offer from 40 legit schools and TSDSPAJEAFTMWHBLY is evident, as is the box shape that should see him onto the 3-tech depth chart immediately, with a more than plausible shot at nose. The Amoeba arrangement we anticipate under Mike Macdonald would certainly favor a guy like Benny, who after some development could be the kind of guy who swings between all three interior roles.

At 275 already he has a shot to see the field this year, but I’m guessing that will just be getting his feet wet. There’s a lot to learn on the inside, and while Benny seems game, it probably will take a few years before it takes. By Benny’s redshirt sophomore season, Hinton will probably be gone, Jeter and Welschof will have exhausted their COVID-enhanced eligibility, and Benny’s class will have a pretty clear path to the front lines, give or take a Kris Jenkins or Michael Morris growing into interior presences. As the highest rated of the bunch, and the one best positioned to play all three positions, Benny would be the odds favorite to start.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Defensive tackle has been Addressed. With everyone signed they’ll have to go to the transfer portal to fill their immediate needs, which are fast cornerbacks, cornerbacks, more cornerbacks, fast cornerbacks, faster cornerbacks, more faster cornerbacks, immediately playable defensive tackles, linebackers, and perhaps a backup quarterback in case they lose one in the upcoming positional battle.

All things considered, it looks like a pretty good class, with a few sweet headliners at the skill positions and strengths everywhere but the secondary. The addition of Benny pushes them to #10 in the country and still #2 in the Big Ten. It also drops Michigan State to 43rd, behind Cincinnati and Rutgers.