Benjamin Extends his Stay, Loves Michigan’s “Throwback Feel”

Though Michigan will be hosting a wide array of recruits over the month, there wasn’t a visit that looked to be more promising than that of Wylie East (TX) RB Eno Benjamin‘s on Tuesday.

The versatile Longhorn State tailback quickly rose up the board and became a legit option to join the class after receiving his offer from the Wolverines in mid-February. This was nearly a year after I first started speaking with him and learning about how much he wanted an offer from the new Michigan coaching staff.

Thanks to his new found offer and longtime affinity for the Maize and Blue, he quickly set up a visit to campus for this week while on a tour to a handful of other programs. Though, the trip to Ann Arbor was the only one Jim Harbaugh wanted him to take.

“Harbaugh wanted me to take out the rest of my visits and hang with them the whole week,” Benjamin said. That among other things he told me, says a lot about where Michigan has him on their board.

As for the trip overall, “Everything was GREAT”. Benjamin arrived around noon on Tuesday, spent the entire day touring the campus, checking out the facilities, watching practice and learning about the program.

“Everything from academics to football stood (out) and just the throwback feel on everything,” he mentioned, talking about the “old school style” weight room and locker room. Something some, maybe even most, recruits may not like, Benjamin really enjoyed. Which says a lot about the type of player and person he is, as well as why the staff is all over him.

The original plan for Benjamin to only be in Ann Arbor for the majority of Tuesday but he stayed the night and returned to campus on Wednesday to hangout with the coaches for a little bit before taking off to his next stop on the tour. That includes trips to Northwestern, Iowa and Arkansas.

Those other visits may be the main reason why Benjamin isn’t a Wolverine commit right now. He’s admitted that he nearly committed while on the trip but held off. If the staff continues to make him a priority, like they did on his visit, Michigan will be sitting pretty throughout his recruitment.

I should have more from Benjamin after his spring break visits are over. So, make sure to stay tuned to MGoFish by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook!

Photo Credit: Xavier Hopkins/WEHBluePrint

Garrett Fishaw