Bennett becomes mentor in committee of running backs

Alone in the backfield just past the 50, Isaac Bennett takes a direct snap from the center and darts right, breaking through five defenders on the outside. After sidestepping a flailing would-be tackler, Bennett bursts through arm tackles and cruises into the end zone unscathed.

This display of dominance, this sequence of precisely-cutting jukes and powerfully-churning legs, occurs in Oklahoma’s 2010 Class 5A high school football state title match — a 32-3 crushing of East Central High School at the hands of Booker T. Washington and its star running back. On the day, Bennett accumulated three touchdowns and over 220 yards of total offense.

Bennett’s career at Pitt began as a three-star recruit in 2011. Since then, his time has been spent as a backup, having started just two games his freshman year after Ray Graham suffered a right knee injury. 

Bennett, now a junior, has yet to double such a robust output from that single title game in his first two years as a Panther. But when Rushel Shell forfeited a gig as Pitt’s feature back in 2013 by waffling on transfer options, the role finally looked like Bennett’s to lose at the outset of the season. 

His mettle and perseverance are refreshing in an era where student-athletes do not hesitate to flee to another program in search of guaranteed playtime. 

Thus, this was supposed to be a story about Bennett nearing a rise from his football nadir, emerging as the every-down back and squashing vapid scouting reports.

But Bennett participated in just four days of team summer camp before being sidelined on Aug. 10 with a right knee injury. 

At practice, he looked ready to play, dressed in pads and uniform, but the hefty brace stretching from the middle of his right thigh to the ankle starkly indicated otherwise. He tried curbing an obvious craving to practice by cradling a football close to his chest in one hand and clutching the facemask of his helmet in the other.

One dinged knee has turned this story into what could be like Bennett’s first two years at Pitt, where in-game reps and general attention are plucked by deserving teammates.

Freshmen James Conner and Rachid Ibrahim are the front-runners to fill the void, should Bennett have to miss time in the regular season. 

They are a tandem of “thunder and lightning,” in the words of the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Conner, or a combo of “smash and dash,” as dubbed by the nimble, 185-pound Ibrahim.

“They’ve absolutely grown and progressed,” head coach Paul Chryst said of the freshman tailbacks after a morning summer practice. “Every rep they get, even if something comes out different, it’s good for them to see. We just have to keep grinding with them.”

Conner attended high school in Erie, Pa., where he played as an acclaimed defensive end his junior year before becoming an acclaimed running back his senior season. His first step running the ball is explosive — like he’s rushing the quarterback from the defensive edge. And he’s certainly not shy about contact.

Conner said that growing up with four older brothers — one of whom is a 6-foot-4 cage fighter and another who is in the Air Force — instilled that bravado in him. 

Conner is not subtle about vanquishing the opportunity to work with the first team after Bennett’s injury.

“I plan on being the first running back on the field [for the season opener],” he said confidently — not arrogantly. “The more reps I get, the more confident I get hitting the holes and reading. So I plan on being the first running back out there. That’s my mentality.”

Like Conner, Ibrahim was scouted as a defensive player — in his case, as a safety — but the comparisons fall short there. 

Ibrahim’s running style is mercurial, sure to feature cutbacks and changes of pace. He speaks with less gusto — and more like the freshman he is — when discussing a possible starting role. 

When asked if he thought he’d receive first-team reps this early in his career, Ibrahim said, “Not really,” while exhaling and flashing a smile — as if the feeling had just set in. “But I came in working hard and hoping it would pay off.”

Get him talking about his off-field relationship with Bennett and the other backs, though, and Ibrahim’s soft voice sheds some of its youthful nervousness. 

“We like to chill a lot. We go out to eat as a group — just running back time,” he said, citing a group hibachi meal at Nakama.

In other words, Bennett hasn’t been sulking his injury or his falling stock. Nor has he lamented Conner or Ibrahim for moving into the spotlight. Instead, he’s adopted the role of mentor.

He’s declined to speak to the media since his injury, but his beaming personality — even while watching practice from the sidelines — and praise from his teammates both say plenty.

“Oh, he’s a great help,” Ibrahim started, not knowing where to begin on Bennett’s tutelage. “He’s just like an older brother. He’s been guiding us, always around. When [the running backs] are coming off the field, he’s telling us little key pointers.” 

With redshirt sophomore Malcolm Crockett and redshirt senior Desmond Brown also in the mix of backs, Pitt is not light on options to shuffle up the backfield.

Though Bennett participated in running back drills for the final two days of camp, it’s uncertain if he’ll miss part of the regular season. It’s up in the air if Bennett’s injury has Conner or Ibrahim supplanted as the Panthers’ feature back, diminishing the likelihood that the high school star from Oklahoma translates his success into the college game.

Quite possibly, not even Bennett knows if or how his injury will affect his chance at starting. But in his first practice since the injury, as he walked to throw away the two bags of ice that relaxed his knees, a spectator welcomed him back to the action. In one fell swoop, it became clear what Bennett knew.

He turned to the man, gleaming an infectious smile, and said, “Good to be back.”