Black and Blue Review
With the Panthers headed out of town for their game in New Orleans this weekend, Florida State is borrowing Bank of America Stadium for the third straight year. The Seminoles face Georgia Tech for the ACC Championship Saturday night.
Before he was Carolina’s first-round draft pick this May, Panthers rookie receiver Kelvin Benjamin played in each of the previous two ACC Championships with Florida State. In 2012, he caught just one pass for three yards against Georgia Tech. He then dominated Duke with five receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns last year.
Benjamin’s college coach, Jimbo Fisher, held a press conference Friday afternoon at Bank of America Stadium ahead of this weekend’s game, and when asked about Benjamin, Fisher immediately began raving:
“I just tried to text him. I was just trying to get ahold of him, big knucklehead. He and my youngest son — Ethan — that’s his hero. My youngest always sat with him and loved him — Tre does too — but Ethan and him are very, very close. I’ve kept up with him every week. Text him, call him, trying to keep up with him. He’s got a chance for rookie of the year, doesn’t he? He’s got when, eight or nine touchdowns on the year? Maybe a 1,000-yard season? I’ve said that guy’s a dynamic guy. You mind if I keep him for a game? Y’all can go without him. Can I have him this week? I’ll keep him this week. But no, I’m proud of him and very happy for him. He’s worked very hard.”
Two seasons ago, Benjamin caught just 30 passes for 495 yards and two touchdowns. Last year, he exploded for 54 receptions, 1,011 yards, and 15 scores. Now he’s a legit candidate for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“He never played much football. Even in high school, he was very new to the game. He was always bigger, faster and stronger than everybody. And then he understood work ethic,” Fisher said.
“The thing about KB is he’s very intelligent. He learns extremely well. Then he learned that work ethic, and how to push himself and challenge himself. He physically is as gifted as anybody I’ve ever coached. He can do things in that size and that frame that 5-10, 180 guys can do, but he can do it in a 6-6, 230-pound frame. He has top-end speed, ball skills, I think he’ll be a great player in this league for a long time. I’m very proud of him. Happy for him.”