Two schools stand out for Brother Rice star

Jason Pughe

www.athletevault.com

Updated March 21, 2008...

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Shamari Benton currently doesn’t have any offers, but the 6-0 195 pound linebacker from Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan isn’t too worried.  Benton has played linebacker during his high school career, but all of the colleges want to see him play at Strong Safety. 

“Because I didn’t play strong safety and I played outside linebacker, a lot of the coaches want me to go to the camps and show them that I can cover,” Benton said.  “I’ve talked to a lot of coaches and they said that I am on the top of their list if I can cover.  I have the speed and I can hit, they just want to see if I can cover at the one day camps.”

Benton recently cut his list down to five schools, but there are two that are recruiting him the hardest and that are in the lead.

“My top schools are Ohio State, Michigan State, Kansas, USC, and Michigan,” he said.  “I would say Ohio State and Michigan State are far in the lead and they are recruiting me the hardest.”

Benton’s cousin played safety for Kansas and that explains his recent interest in the Jayhawks.  This past February one of his team mates Caulton Ray, signed with the Michigan State Spartans.  This past weekend Benton had a chance to visit with Ray and Michigan State’s head coach Mark Dantonio.

“I just went to Michigan State on Sunday for their junior day and me and Coach Dantonio sat down and talked,” he said.  “We went over the offer situation and how they would use me.  He said that he watched my highlight film three times that day and he wants to see me come in for one day and cover like a safety is supposed to.  He told me that I’d probably spend less than an hour there when I go to the one day camp.”

Despite Michigan State and Ohio State being the leaders, Benton is going to visit each school and look at the main factors that will help influence his decision.

“Mostly I’m looking at the recruiting class coming in with me, the opportunity to play early, the education, and the diversity of the school,” he said.

Living in Michigan, most people grow up either Wolverine or Spartan fans.  Benton’s parents don’t really have a favorite team and they want to help their son find the best fit when it comes to picking a college.  Benton grew up a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes and he was a big fan of how they used their linebackers.

“My favorite team growing up was Ohio State even though I lived in Michigan,” he said.  “Their linebackers stood out and I’m kind of mad that I can’t play linebacker at the next level.  I always looked up to the linebackers at Ohio State, but playing safety isn’t that bad either.  My parents just want me to go to the place that’s the best fit for me.  They want me to get the home feel as far as education, the program, and tradition goes.”

On the field, Benton models his intensity after Ray Lewis and Shawn Merriman.  Last year he used that intensity and his 4.5 forty speed to earn All-Metro and All-Area honors.  Everyday, he’s been doing one on one drills to work on his coverage skills and he expects to play Strong Safety for Brother Rice next season.  Over the past two seasons, he has accumulated 138 tackles and eight sacks.  Despite focusing so much on his coverage skills, he has found time to visit a couple of schools.  In the near future, he not only hopes to visit the remaining schools on his list, but hopefully decide on a college destination.

“I’ve visited Michigan and Michigan State so far,” he said.  “I’ve been getting a lot of junior day letters.  We’re just going to go out and try to get them done.  I still have to go to West Virginia, Ohio State, and I’m thinking about going down to Florida to visit a couple of schools.  I’d like to make my decision in the spring or early summer.”

 

Check out Benton’s highlight video at:
www.AthleteVault.com/Videos/ShamariBentonAV.html

*Brother Rice Helmet courtesy of www.MichiganHelmetProject.org*

 

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