Stellar, Standard & Subpar: Charlie Benton in 2020
As we inch closer and closer to the start of the 2020 season, we take an in-depth look at each player on the Mountaineer roster. In these breakdowns, we discuss what a stellar, standard, and subpar season would look like for them. We are going in numerical order, so today we turn to linebacker Charlie Benton.
Prior to his arrival to West Virginia in 2018, Charlie Benton was one of the better junior college linebackers in the country. He helped lead Butler Community College to an 8-3 record in 2017 and totaled 34 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, and one interception. In short, he did just a little bit of everything.
Typically junior college players don't have a ton of hype surrounding them when they make the jump to the FBS level, but during the Holgorsen era, JUCO guys were prioritized in recruiting. Benton was expected to come in and be an immediate impact to the Mountaineer defense, but unfortunately he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener vs Tennessee.
Even with a full year of recovery, Benton did not see any game action in 2019. He was still trying to find his way back onto the field, but just never saw it happened. Not much has been said on the team's plans for how they will utilize him, if at all, in 2020.
Stellar
After two years of essentially no playing time, a stellar season for Benton would be to just see game action and make some sort of an impact. If healthy, he can provide the Mountaineers with quality depth at linebacker. Make no mistake, Benton can play.
Standard
It may seem unfair to say a normal season for Benton would be seeing more of him on the sidelines, but that's all Mountaineer fans have known of him over the past two seasons. However, I would say that a standard season would see roughly half of the production he posted during his final year of junior college. I think that would be a fair enough assessment, given that he is healthy.
Subpar
A subpar season for Benton would be not seeing any action on the field for the second straight season, essentially making his career in Morgantown very silent.
Previous Players
What kind of season are you expecting for Charlie Benton in 2020? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
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