Syracuse Football: Future at TE looks safe with arrival of Luke Benson

Syracuse football has a lot of question marks on the roster, tight end isn’t one of them. Here’s how Luke Benson made his presence known on Saturday.

When you play an FCS opponent in your own building a few things are guaranteed.

A Syracuse football victory (41-3) and due to the mismatch on the field another thing that is assured is youngsters getting playing time.

Despite the 38 point victory, head coach Dino Babers kept a lot of his starters in the game throughout the contest.

Although several young players did get their opportunity to make something happen and one of those key cogs was freshman tight end, Luke Benson.

There is good and bad news with Benson’s rock-star debut. The bad news is he only finished the game with one reception. The good news is it went for 70 yards for a touchdown.

Quality over quantity. 

After the game, Luke sat down with us to talk about his first career touchdown reception, his game-breaking speed, and what is still in store for 2019 and beyond.

The first touchdown reception of your career is in the books did it go according to plan and what was that moment like?

"“Yeah man, it was awesome to get the first one in the books. The No. 1 thing I wanted to do this year for the Orange was to produce so I’m glad I was able to do that for the team.”"

You know tight ends aren’t usually known for their speed, but you caught that pass and brought it all the way to the house, is that something you pride yourself on?

"“Absolutely my speed is the base of my game, to be honest. I’m trying to become a more complete player. I need to improve my blocking and my overall game to reach the next level.”"

Speaking of speed what’s your 40-yard dash time?

"“I’ve never done an official one before but hand-timed I’ve clocked in the high 4.4’s. I’ve always been fast and a vertical threat so that helps.”"

How has the assimilation process been for you from high school to college?

"“I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of good people around me from the staff to my teammates helping me along. Also having Aaron Hackett on the team ahead of me has been special. It really helps the process when you have good teachers all around you. Everyone here is accepting and trying to make me better.”"

You mentioned Hackett, what have you learned from him and how has he helped you?

"“Absolutely man he’s got a tireless work ethic. After practice, it’s nice to have someone pulling you aside and saying hey let’s work on this today. Getting out before and after practice has been key. I’m trying to model myself after all of these hard workers on the team.”"

What do you think of the relatively new redshirt rule?

"“It’s definitely nice to have and it’s super valuable. I think I burned my redshirt today. It’s helpful for guys to get that invaluable game experience and develop, while still having that fifth year in your back pocket.”"

Last question, how complicated is this ‘Orange is the New Fast’ offense to learn?

"“This coaching staff does a really good job of teaching you. They don’t give you the entire offense all at once, they give it to you in slices over the summer.”"

Luke has been playing the tight end position since seventh grade and stands in around 6-foot-4. The speed shouldn’t surprise you because if you’ve ever watched his film before, it’s very evident. He gets some of that from his prior position which was running back.

When you play a position like running back you have to be physical. During camp, Luke has really tried to improve as a blocker he talked about that to finish off the interview here:

"“The coaching staff did a really nice job during the summer putting me in uncomfortable situations and seeing how I’d react. It has been challenging but in a good way. If you want to produce you have to be able to do a lot of different things and that’s what I’m working on.”"