Benning has all the potential to take the leap in 2017 ... he was showing strong flashes at the end of 2016 ...
He's got rare physical skills ... he's likely relied on them for most of his playing life.
In an ideal world, what you want to see out of our DL and LB recruits is for them to redshirt their first year and then work themselves into depth in their second year. If there's opportunity they take the advantage of the situation their third year and go forward from there.
Benning showed SIGNIFICANT growth from the beginning of 2016 to the end of it ... I was very critical of him early in the season for trying to do more than his job ... by the end of the season he was way more balanced in doing his job. For the defense to perform at or above it's 2016 level, a big component will be in Benning (or somebody else) moving over to the BUCK position and making a significant impact.
As for any of the DBs, the reason that I don't really call them out is that at this point it's like a factory there. I expect Joyner will find a role. Byron Murphy isn't a breakout player to me because the only reason he didn't play last year was because of our depth ... he will be a good one.
Tevis would probably be my #2 player as I do think that he's got a chance to have a very, very strong year.
