Keeanu Benton
{{short description|American football player (born 2001)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Keeanu Benton
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| current_team = Pittsburgh Steelers
| number = 95
| position = Nose tackle
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2001|7|17}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 4
| weight_lbs = 309
| high_school = Joseph A. Craig {{avoid wrap|(Janesville, Wisconsin)}}
| college = Wisconsin (2019–2022)
| draftyear = 2023
| draftround = 2
| draftpick = 49
| pastteams =
- Pittsburgh Steelers ({{NFL Year|2023}}–present)
| status = Active
| highlights =
- Second-team All-Big Ten (2021)
- Third-team All-Big Ten (2022)
| statweek =
| statseason = 2024
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 72
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 2.0
| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue3 = 2
| statlabel4 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue4 = 1
| statlabel5 = Pass deflections
| statvalue5 = 8
| statlabel6 = Interceptions
| statvalue6 = 1
| statlabel7 = Touchdowns
| statvalue7 =
| pfr = BentKe00
}}
Keeanu Kyrie Benton (born July 17, 2001) is an American professional football nose tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers.
Early life
Benton grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin and attended Joseph A. Craig High School.{{Cite web |last=Barry |first=John |date=January 27, 2020 |title=Craig graduate Keeanu Benton bucked the odds and played key role as a true freshman at Wisconsin |url=https://www.gazettextra.com/sports/college/craig-graduate-keeanu-benton-bucked-the-odds-and-played-key-role-as-a-true-freshman/article_4d3a008c-15bb-5f1f-9705-425c70d65312.html |access-date=September 14, 2022 |website=Janesville Gazette}} As a senior, he made 75 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, and one fumble recovery.{{Cite web |last=Temple |first=Jesse |date=April 8, 2019 |title=Imposing, athletic and eager: Why DT Keeanu Benton could see the field at Wisconsin sooner rather than later |url=https://theathletic.com/909966/2019/04/08/wisconsin-football-freshman-keeanu-benton-defensive-tackle/ |access-date=September 14, 2022 |website=The Athletic}} Benton committed to play college football at Wisconsin over an offer from Iowa.{{Cite web |last=Galloway |first=Jason |date=May 12, 2018 |title=Janesville Craig defensive tackle Keeanu Benton reportedly commits to Badgers |url=https://apnews.com/article/college-football-sports-wisconsin-football-janesville-63d981c2528a4d3ca9c2d1ed30d04a61 |access-date=September 15, 2022 |website=APNews.com |publisher=Wisconsin State Journal}}
College career
Benton played in 13 games and made six starts at nose tackle as a freshman and finished the season with 12 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks.{{Cite web |last=Galloway |first=Jason |date=August 5, 2019 |title=Badgers nose tackle Keeanu Benton working to make himself game ready as true freshman |url=https://madison.com/sports/college/football/badgers-nose-tackle-keeanu-benton-working-to-make-himself-game-ready-as-true-freshman/article_856cfeb5-8679-51e3-b636-b0b0609d8871.html |access-date=September 14, 2022 |website=Wisconsin State Journal}}{{Cite web |last=Vantress |first=David |date=August 6, 2021 |title=Janesville Craig grad Keeanu Benton ready to dominate for Wisconsin Badgers |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/janesville-craig-grad-keeanu-benton-023400326.html |access-date=September 14, 2022 |website=The Janesville Gazette}} He played in seven games and made seven starts at nose tackle during his sophomore season.{{Cite web |last=Potrykus |first=Jeff |date=December 14, 2021 |title=Badgers nose tackle Keeanu Benton likely to return in 2022 |url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2021/12/14/badgers-nose-tackle-keeanu-benton-likely-return-2022/6505458001/ |access-date=September 14, 2022 |website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}} He was named second team All-Big Ten Conference as a junior after making 25 tackles with five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.{{Cite web |date=August 27, 2022 |title=Keeanu Benton vital to Wisconsin defensive line in final season |url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/08/27/keeanu-benton-vital-wisconsin-defensive-line-final-season/7889612001/ |access-date=September 14, 2022 |website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}}
=Statistics=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Season
! rowspan="2"| Team ! rowspan="2"| GP ! colspan="4"| Tackles ! colspan="5"| Interceptions ! colspan="2"| Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FF | FR | ||
| 2019 | Wisconsin
| 8 || 12|| 8 || 4 || 2.0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 2020 | Wisconsin
| 7 || 9 || 5 || 4 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 2021 | Wisconsin
| 12 || 24 || 11 || 13 || 2.5 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 2 | |||||||||||
| 2022 | Wisconsin
| 12 || 36 || 20|| 16 || 4.5 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||
| colspan="2"|[https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/keeanu-benton-1.html Career] | 39 | 81 | 44 | 37 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 3 3/4
| weight = 309
| dash = 5.08
| ten split = 1.79
| twenty split = 2.95
| shuttle = 4.65
| cone drill = 7.34
| vertical = 29.5
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 3
| bench = 25
| arm span = 33 7/8
| hand span = 9 3/4
| note = All values from NFL Combine{{Cite web |title=Keeanu Benton Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/keeanu-benton/32004245-4e72-8037-3a5b-4117a2df7f2d |access-date=April 14, 2023 |website=NFL.com}}{{Cite web |title=2023 NFL Draft Scout Keeanu Benton College Football Profile |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1030383&DraftYear=2023 |access-date=April 14, 2023 |website=DraftScout.com}}
}}
Benton was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round, 49th overall, of the 2023 NFL draft.{{Cite web |last=Varley |first=Teresa |date=April 28, 2023 |title=Steelers select Keeanu Benton in the second round |url=https://www.steelers.com/news/steelers-select-keeanu-benton-in-the-second-round |access-date=May 25, 2023 |website=Steelers.com}} As a rookie, Benton appeared in 17 games and started nine. He finished with one sack, 36 total tackles (16 solo), two passes defended, and two forced fumbles.{{Cite web |title=Keeanu Benton 2023 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BentKe00/gamelog/2023/ |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Twitter|keeanu_benton}}
{{footballstats|yahoo=40079}}
- [https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/keeanu-benton/ Pittsburgh Steelers bio]
- [https://uwbadgers.com/sports/football/roster/keeanu-benton/10980 Wisconsin Badgers bio]
{{Pittsburgh Steelers roster navbox}}
{{Steelers2023DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benton, Keeanu}}
Category:American football defensive tackles
Category:Players of American football from Wisconsin
Category:Wisconsin Badgers football players
Category:Sportspeople from Janesville, Wisconsin