Benton works to be more for the WVU defense, football team
Becoming an effective leader doesn't happen overnight. It takes both time and effort.
For redshirt senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton the moment it truly clicked for him is etched into his memory like the lyrics to a favorite song. Following the Cactus Bowl win over Arizona State, with the backdrop of the desert, Benton noticed then middle linebacker Jared Barber celebrating in the stands.
The veteran, who was just played his final collegiate game, walked over to Benton and exchanged a few words as well as essentially handing over the keys to the Mountaineers defense to his protégé.
“He said this is your team now,” Benton recalled.
At the time it didn’t hit the New Jersey native, but once he was in the locker room celebrating with his teammates defensive coordinator Tony Gibson echoed those sentiments. Benton was charged with being the middle linebacker for the Mountaineers now and with that, being a leader for the defense.
That trust from both a captain on the team at the time and his position coach was all he needed.
“That’s exactly what I needed to hear,” he said.
He took it to heart.
So Benton got to work. Not only in the weight room physically becoming stronger and faster, but off the field as well. Leadership has several components and is often a loaded word; Benton wanted to embody all of the characteristics it took to become that for the Mountaineers.
Starting only one-game during his career prior to a season ago, Benton already had garnered the respect and admiration of many of his teammates due to his effort and dedication to the program.
That also meant being a standout representative of the program at all times while away from the game of football in the classroom or in the community.
Benton also worked on becoming a mentor to younger players on the team and being more than just a vocal leader. While he never had an issue pointing out mistakes of his teammates and accepting the same criticisms from others, Benton had to take charge of all areas.
“I have to be more than just a guy that starts the chants on the way into the stadium,” he said.
But it took more to truly become what his predecessor at the position meant to the defense.
Starting all 13-games a season ago, Benton finished with 80 tackles, good for second on the team. He also graded out as one of the top returning players on the West Virginia team by Pro Football Focus.
Now the final component was in place.
“Making plays a lot of people don’t mention that but people won’t follow you unless you’re out there making plays,” Benton said. “You have to be a guy that is contributing to the team.”
Now in his fifth season with the West Virginia program Benton has developed into one of the unquestioned leaders of the Mountaineers defense. Benton was the first name out of many players when asked who had embraced the leadership role. Garnering the respect of both his teammates and coaches, the middle linebacker has become what he set out to be.
But he hasn’t settled and still wants to get even better in that department on and off the field and is still striving to master the craft.
“Just being a coach on the field. I want to be a guy that when coach Gibby and them have to go on recruiting trips I want to be a guy that can still be here and run this defense and run this team in the right direction,” he said. “You lead by example.”
And Benton has.