Class of 2019 TE/DE Luke Benson (PA) SIGNED NLI TO SYRACUSE 12/19/18

[chugg21]

I certainly hope so. Just been a long 15 or so years.

 

[Dinkyspond]

If it means anything, Central Bucks West is the alma mater of former Syracuse QB Todd Norley, decent starting QB in the 80s, most famous for the TD pass to Mike Siano in the Nebraska upset in 1984. That's good lineage, strong PA high school football school.

 

[cuse309]

Offers from Princeton, Columbia, Colgate, Yale, Brown, Holy Cross, Army, Fordham, Indiana St, Youngstown, Bucknell, Monmouth, Albany, Richmond, Lafayette College, Towson, Penn, Harvard, Villanova, Delaware, Buffalo, JMU, Syracuse

So will his grades be an issue?

 

[SUforme]

Love it! Has height, quicks, speed and seems to catch well. Great addition as a TE. Welcome to the Cuse!

 

[SmilinBob]

Some good speed here and should be smart enough to know/learn the system and find those seams. Welcome to the Hill Luke!

 

[RF2044]

Well... TE certainly IS a position of need...

 

[SmilinBob]

Well... TE certainly IS a position of need...

Aye, and if SU has TE's that can go wide and block this Offense will be very tough to defend in many ways. Have to force the D to pick a poison.

 

[sutomcat]

Luke Benson

2018 Outdoor Season Central Bucks West HS11th Grade


100 Meters
2 11.08May 12Suburban One League Continental Conference Championships1 P1
11.27May 12Suburban One League Continental Conference
Championships1 F4 11.03 (1.5)May 19PIAA District 1 AAA
Championships1 S3 10.96 (3.1)May 19PIAA District 1 AAA
Championships1 P5 10.94 (1.8)May 19PIAA District 1 AAA
Championships1 F3 10.93 PR (-.3)May 26PIAA State ChampionshipsV S10 11.12 (-1.7)May 26PIAA State ChampionshipsV P8 11.05 (.3)May 26PIAA State Championships

Kid looks pretty fast at his size. 10.93 in the 100 meter is smoking.

Running Conversion Calculator | Track & Field and Cross Country Event Conversions | Metric to English

Luke finished 8th in the state in the 100m (AAA schools). Finished 3rd in the semis, beating, among others, Courtney Jackson. I wonder if Courtney was hurt, since he was not very close to his PRs in the 100m or the long jump. If he hit his PR in states, he would have finished 4th in the state in the long jump.

PIAA State Championships - Track & Field Meet

 

[blizz]

We saw him camp. I’m totally happy with them making an offer after watching him in person.

Anything more you can say about seeing him camp?

 

[Finwad32]

LOVE this pickup... Could turn out to be a HR at that position. This is one of two commits that I'm really high on.

 

[sdhall01]

Anything more you can say about seeing him camp?

Sorry I meant we as in the Royal we. Syracuse saw him camp not me personally!

 

[orangemass]

2 points:

1) This kid's measurables make him a candidate for the league in 4/5 years... Just needs to get bigger and stronger... Which I'm sure he will

2) Lots of teams/systems have eliminated the need for a pass catching tight end... So a lot of P5 teams wouldn't even look in his general direction...

 

[#FRANchise]

Cam Serigne’s only offers besides Wake Forest were Ohio U and JMU, and he went for 119 and 3TDs against us last year. I trust the coaches’ camp evaluations. This kid became a priority for us after they saw him at camp.

 

[blizz]

Sorry I meant we as in the Royal we. Syracuse saw him camp not me personally!

No worries. Sniffin' for some scoop.

 

[RF2044]

LOVE this pickup... Could turn out to be a HR at that position. This is one of two commits that I'm really high on.

Finwad32 -- you usually have pretty insightful takes on recruits, I'm wondering if you'd be willing to expound on why you are so excited about this recruit.

Thanks!

 

[sufandu]

2 points:

1) This kid's measurables make him a candidate for the league in 4/5 years... Just needs to get bigger and stronger... Which I'm sure he will

2) Lots of teams/systems have eliminated the need for a pass catching tight end... So a lot of P5 teams wouldn't even look in his general direction...

I don't know why any coach wouldn't want a 6'4" 220 lb guy that runs sub 11 sec 100m times to catch the ball, regardless of the name of his position, but that's cool. We'll take him.

 

[sutomcat]

I don't know why any coach wouldn't want a 6'4" 220 lb guy that runs sub 11 sec 100m times to catch the ball, regardless of the name of his position, but that's cool. We'll take him.

I agree. Lucas is one of the fastest high school sprinters in the state of Pennsylvania. That alone makes him interesting to me. That he is 6'4 220 pounds, has good hands, is a solid blocker and looks like he could be a force at DE too just makes him that more interesting as a prospect.

He is bigger and faster than any TE we have had in years.

I look at him like I look at Gabe Horan, another tall guy who can run. If he stops developing physically/doesn't add much muscle, he can be a force at TE. If he adds 30 or 40 pounds, he could be a great DE, and if he adds 70 or 80 pounds, he could be a terrific OL or DT. Big guys with athletic ability and speed are great assets in a rebuilding program. We can't get enough of them.

 

[sufandu]

I agree. Lucas is one of the fastest high school sprinters in the state of Pennsylvania. That alone makes him interesting to me. That he is 6'4 220 pounds, has good hands, is a solid blocker and looks like he could be a force at DE too just makes him that more interesting as a prospect.

He is bigger and faster than any TE we have had in years.

I look at him like I look at Gabe Horan, another tall guy who can run. If he stops developing physically/doesn't add much muscle, he can be a force at TE. If he adds 30 or 40 pounds, he could be a great DE, and if he adds 70 or 80 pounds, he could be a terrific OL or DT. Big guys with athletic ability and speed are great assets in a rebuilding program. We can't get enough of them.

Who was the last guy we had with that kind of size that has run the 100m in the 10's, Rob Konrad?

 

[RandomGuy]

I agree. Lucas is one of the fastest high school sprinters in the state of Pennsylvania. That alone makes him interesting to me. That he is 6'4 220 pounds, has good hands, is a solid blocker and looks like he could be a force at DE too just makes him that more interesting as a prospect.

He is bigger and faster than any TE we have had in years.

I look at him like I look at Gabe Horan, another tall guy who can run. If he stops developing physically/doesn't add much muscle, he can be a force at TE. If he adds 30 or 40 pounds, he could be a great DE, and if he adds 70 or 80 pounds, he could be a terrific OL or DT. Big guys with athletic ability and speed are great assets in a rebuilding program. We can't get enough of them.

Easy to get him to 240. 4.51 forty. Speed/length/plays mean. He'll succeed wherever he lines up.

 

[Ish88888]

2 points:

1) This kid's measurables make him a candidate for the league in 4/5 years... Just needs to get bigger and stronger... Which I'm sure he will

2) Lots of teams/systems have eliminated the need for a pass catching tight end... So a lot of P5 teams wouldn't even look in his general direction...

Good points and i am not convinced we see him as a big, athletic target out of the slot or even on the outside. Think Joirdie Nelsom.

 

[Ish88888]

Love it! Has height, quicks, speed and seems to catch well. Great addition as a TE. Welcome to the Cuse!

Not sure why we are chasing this grunt of a TE. Heck, he might stay at the same weight and line up all over the place. His hands are still in question with only 8 catches. That said, love his speed and athleticism!

 

[sufandu]

Not sure why we are chasing this grunt of a TE. Heck, he might stay at the same weight and line up all over the place. His hands are still in question with only 8 catches. That said, love his speed and athleticism!

I'm sure the coaches saw him catch more than 8 at camp, and, who knows, maybe we're not chasing a "grunt of a TE," maybe we're chasing a grunt of a DE. At this point it's quite possible his position isn't defined yet. With that athleticism, you bring him in and find the best fit. Ron Thompson did well coming in as a TE then switching to DE.

 

[PhatOrange]

Not sure why we are chasing this grunt of a TE. Heck, he might stay at the same weight and line up all over the place. His hands are still in question with only 8 catches. That said, love his speed and athleticism!

His hands are not in question because of 8 catches.

Do we have any idea what offense his team runs and how much they throw?

 

[blizz]

...His hands are still in question with only 8 catches...

They only threw it to him 8 times.

 

[TheCusian]

A guy that big and smart and fast you just take and figure it out later