10/7/2023 football Edit

Trey Benson uses motivation from mom, Dalvin Cook for career rushing day

Trey Benson racked up 200 yards with two long TD runs on Saturday. (Mike Olivella)

Curt Weiler • TheOsceola

Senior Writer

Trey Benson knew Florida State's run game was close to breaking through after a slow start this season.

He may not have known how close it was or how dramatically the dam would break once it finally did.

Through four games this season, the standout running back hadn't yet even surpassed the 100-yard plateau in a game. In Saturday's 39-17 win over Virginia Tech, he blew by that milestone and reached another far more impressive one.

Behind a pair of long touchdown runs in the win, Benson finished with exactly 200 rushing yards, the 14th-most in a game in program history.

"It meant a lot,” Benson said after the game. "I'm just thankful for the offensive line, the receivers blocking downfield because it showed out on the field today."

From the very opening of the game, the commitment to establishing the run was clear for the Seminoles. This felt especially important considering FSU was coming off its worst rushing performance of Mike Norvell's tenure, managing just 22 yards on 20 carries two weeks prior at Clemson.

But even in that minimal showing, Benson had one 12-yard run at Clemson which looked as close to his late-season 2022 form as he has all season. That carried over into this game against VT from the very beginning.

The Seminoles ran the ball nine times for 44 yards on their opening drive Saturday against the Hokies. Benson accounted for 14 of those yards on three carries.

At the half, Benson had amassed 44 rushing yards. But when FSU really needed him in a few big spots Saturday afternoon, the running back delivered in a major way.

First, he had a 62-yard touchdown run on the second play of FSU's first second-half drive, extending the lead back to two scores right after VT cut the FSU lead to 22-17 and put the Seminoles firmly on upset alert.

That was the longest run of his career, making good on the promise he made to his mother the previous day.

"My mom's birthday was yesterday so I told her I was going to give her my all today. That's what it was," Benson said when asked if there was anything special about this game.

But then, Benson one-upped himself. After a fourth-down stop by the FSU defense with FSU leading 32-17 midway through the fourth quarter, Benson delivered a killshot in the form of an 85-yard touchdown run on the first play of the ensuing drive, taking advantage of some stellar blocking, speeding down the sideline and blowing past a defender who certainly thought he had the angle on Benson to bring him down.

"I wonder how many miles per hour it was," Benson remarked when asked about this run.

"He's got the combination of all the things you want," Norvell said of Benson. "He's big, he's powerful. Obviously he'll run tough in between the tackles, but also has home-run hitting speed out when he gets out there on the edge...Talk about a total back, I mean, there are a lot of guys situational. He can really do it all. He embraces that in his work ethic and the things he does.

"And he's unselfish, which when you have a humble and unselfish player, he's there when another back is in there, whether it's Rodney (Hill), LT, (Lawrance Toafili) whoever it is, he's the one that's there cheering them on louder than anybody. He's just what we want our program to be built like and he's a great leader for that."

With his career performance, he became the first Seminole since Dalvin Cook in 2016 to rush for 200 yards in a game.

Fittingly, he had talked with Cook, now with the New York Jets, only a few weeks ago.

"Our conversation was about he's seen us struggling in the run game, but he told me to keep going, that he knows it's frustrating but the next couple games it's going to get together. It means a lot to me coming from him because he's elite," Benson said.

When Benson checked his phone after joining Cook in the 200-yard club, there was a message from the FSU legend waiting.

"He texted me today. He told me he's proud of me and that he told me this was going to come," Benson added.

To hear his teammates talk about Benson speaks wonders about his importance within the FSU locker room.

Defensive end Jared Verse, his roommate, often gives Benson a hard time in jest and is adamant that he's faster than the running back. But when asked what it meant to see Benson break out after a slower-than-expected start, Verse couldn't hide his pride.

"I had to stop myself from running on the field, getting another penalty," Verse said of Benson's big runs. "I know how hard Trey works, we spent the whole summer together working, all fall, all spring. Everytime we get a chance, we're working out together. To finally see all the hard work pay off, to see him smiling out there, making plays and (acting) like, 'Ok, it's onto the next one. Let me get the next one.' That look in his eyes, it feeds you, it gets you hyped up. It meant so much to me. It's almost like his success is my success. It just made me smile. I love him."

Benson finished the game with 200 yards on 11 carries, a ridiculous 18.2 yards per carry. He had more rushing yards Saturday than he had in FSU's first four games combined (189).

With 389 yards and six rushing touchdowns through five games, he's still very much on pace for exactly the type of season he hoped for when electing to return to FSU in 2023 even with a relatively slower start.

Even without a consistent run game entering Saturday's game, FSU's offense has had a great deal of success this season. When thinking ahead to the difference it could make going forward and how much Saturday meant to Benson, quarterback Jordan Travis also couldn't keep from smiling.

"When your run game is going like that, I feel like everything gets rolling. It opens up the passing game," Travis said. "The running game has been slow all year. This was the first game that it really broke out like that. Just seeing the smile on Trey's face means a lot to me, it makes me happy because I know how hard he works. No matter what, he always has a smile on his face and is confident. I'm just happy for him."