Bennett’s football star on the rise
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/06/2019 (2619 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
THERE’S no question Mason Bennett’s star is on the rise. The 6-4, 260-pound Winnipegger, a defensive end at the University of North Dakota, is already receiving pre-season accolades as he prepares for his fourth year with the Fighting Hawks. On Thursday, he was named a third-team NCAA FCS all-American, as released by HERO Sports.
The 21-year-old Vincent Massey Collegiate grad is coming off a breakout season as a redshirt junior in which he terrorized rival offensive lines for nine sacks and 14 tackles for losses in 11 games for the NCAA Division I Fighting Hawks.
Bennett served notice he plans to be an even more dominant player when the Hawks open their season against the Drake Bulldogs on Aug. 31.
“I think I’ve gotta be a guy who can absolutely change the game — a guy teams are scheming around and maybe chipping me,” Bennett said.
Originally recruited out of high school as a 6-4, 218-pound linebacker, Bennett changed positions and boosted his playing weight by 38 pounds in 2018, his first season as a starter.
UND players started summer workouts on May 27 and will convene for their fall training camp on Aug. 1.
“Summer workouts more focusing on conditioning and speed and stuff like that,” Bennett said. “I’m trying to keep my weight while getting faster, more agile and quicker off the ball. It’s definitely a process to get to that level and I’ve gotta take the correct steps right now. Just trying to finish it off the right way.”
Bennett is considered a rising star for the CFL craft in 2020 but admits he has ambitions to play in the NFL.
“I grew up watching the CFL — the CFL’s a fantastic league,” Bennett said. “If I play in the CFL next season, I’m more than glad to. But the NFL is the NFL.”
mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @sawa14