Foreword:  Butler’s instincts, quickness, and athleticism help him to read and react fast.  He does a good job of getting to the hole and through it quickly.  He has very good playing strength as well as the power to drive and gain movement at the point of attack.  Butler has a strong, high character, upstanding family supporting him and an unparalleled drive and work ethic.  Led the Bearcats in rushing his senior season, led team in rushing touchdowns in ’06, and second leading rusher as a freshman. 

What’s up everyone?  My name is Butler Benton and this first blog is just going to introduce myself and let you know what you need to know about #23, here at fightforthefans.com you’ll be able to follow me throughout my rookie season.

I am a 21 year old NFL Draft prospect from the University of Cincinnati.  I went to high school at Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, Michigan.  I have two older sisters, Aisha (25) and Akilah (23).  My family is very important to me and almost every decision I make in life has the blessing of my mother and father, Butler and Daisy Benton.  Growing up in Detroit it is pretty obvious who I watched as a kid, Barry Sanders.  Like everyone I wanted to model my game after him, but it is just impossible to emulate a one-of-a-kind like Barry.  In high school I began to admire Eddie George and his tough running style, power, and durability. 

Why did I choose Cincinnati?  I wanted to be a part of turning a basketball school into a football school.  I wanted to be apart of a BCS conference and have an opportunity to turn a team into a winner and I think I did that as we finished up 17^th in the nation.  Other than that Cincinnati is not across the country and it had a nice city atmosphere which attracted me to the school.  I am a Business Finance major with a minor in Real Estate. 

When my career is over I have a few different things in mind to continue my professional life.  I would not mind doing some Real Estate development, becoming an agent, or possibly coaching.  I have been told by a lot of my coaches that I would be a tremendous coach.  Eventually I would love to open a community center and youth camp in Detroit.

Here’s a little bit about who I am on the field.  Through my time at Cincinnati we switched coaches and offensive styles.  Under coach Mark Dantonio I was asked to do a lot of blocking and once we switched to coach Kelly I was asked to receive the ball out of the backfield and also do some more outside running than I have done in the past under coach Dantonio.  Because of these changes and differing styles I have become a complete running back with the ability to do everything asked of the position.  At Cincinnati I was a valuable member of all special teams groups and that will help me at the next level.  I like playing special teams and if a team in the NFL wants to use me on special teams I will embrace that because I was taught by my coaches that the best athletes are on special teams.  In short, I am a 6’1” 225lb all-around, complete, intelligent running back. 

Off the field I like to play basketball, watch Family Guy, and go bowling.  Basketball was my first love and I still often play for some good conditioning work.  A day in my life right now includes going to class (I have four classes this semester to finish up my degree), lifting weights, playing basketball, hanging out with teammates, and watching Family Guy. 

Thus far I have had workouts with the San Francisco 49ers who put me through a lot of positional drills and the Cincinnati Bengals who actually had Jordon Palmer (Carson’s younger brother) throw me some passes out of the back field and also put me through a complete running back workout.  In both workouts I feel I impressed some people and showed them I can play at this level. 

Draft day will be a day of anxiety.  I am going to watch Day 1 because I am not expecting as much action.  Day two is my day.  With that said, I probably won’t watch it because I’ll be constantly checking my phone for that call.  Basketball would be a way to kill time on day two, but I wouldn’t be able to check my phone so I think I am going to do some shopping (which I rarely do), so it should definitely make the day go by faster.

Well there’s a quick synopsis of me, Butler Benton.  Please come back weekly and I’ll try to entertain you guys or just give you a little sample of what’s going on in my life.  Tune in on Sunday and pray your team takes me because they will not be disappointed. 

Until next week,