TEMPE – Sun Devil Football running back Eno Benjamin was selected with the 222nd overall pick in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the hometown Arizona Cardinals on Saturday.
Benjamin became the 253rd Sun Devil to be taken in the NFL Draft in program history and the third ASU tailback to go since 2014, joining Marion Grice (2014) and Kalen Ballage (2018). Historically, Sun Devil running backs and fullbacks have combined for 43,414 rushing yards in NFL history with 327 touchdowns.
Benjamin became the first Sun Devil player to be drafted by the Cardinals since Pat Tillman in 1998.
A 2018 All-American after breaking ASU's single season rushing mark, Benjamin finished with 2,867 rushing yards in his career and finished seventh on the school's all-time rushing list despite playing the majority of his time in just two seasons. His 576 rushing attempts were the sixth-most in school history. He was fifth in the country in 2018 with his school record 1,642 rushing yards.
He carried the ball a school-record 300 times in 2018 and compiled 253 rushing attempts in 2019, the third-highest total in program history.
Benjamin recorded 15 career games (six in 2019) with at least 100 rushing yards - good for 4th in program history. He also had 18 career games in which he reached century mark in total all-purpose yards.
Benjamin became the 20th Sun Devil in program history to reach 2,000 rushing yards with his effort against Colorado this season. The junior was one of just five three-year players in ASU history. to find themselves in the 2,000-yard club (Mario Bates, Ben Malone, Art Malone and Woody Green). Benjamin also joined the all-purpose 3,000-yard club this year (3,620) as he eclipsed the 3K all-purpose yards mark for his career against Utah.
He had at least one touchdown (rushing or receiving) in 18 games in his career. He had 27 career rushing touchdowns, only one shy of cracking the Top-5 in program history despite receiving the majority of his snaps in just two seasons. He had 32 total touchdowns (27 rushing, 4 receiving, and 1 blocked return) in his career.
The junior was 4th in the Pac-12 with 10 rushing touchdowns during the regular season. His 12 total touchdowns were fifth in the league and 37th nationally. He was 4th in the league with 119.17 all-purpose yards per game en route to his second straight placement on the All-Pac-12 First Team.
Benjamin continued to do his part to make people miss, forcing 72 missed tackles in the regular season - a total tied for 10th nationally among running backs. He was 22nd nationally with 739 yards after contact (68.2 percent of his 1,083 rushing yards). He forced 94 missed tackles as a sophomore, the third-highest total nationally.
He rushed for 19 first downs in the regular season when the team was facing third down - tied for 12th nationally among FBS running backs.
Benjamin helped rally the offense when attempting to come back, recording 22 rushing first downs when the team was trailing by 7 or fewer points - the second-highest total nationally in the regular season - while his seven rushing touchdowns while trailing by a touchdown or less were first in the FBS and his 354 yards in the situation were 8th nationally.
He played 341 snaps in passing routes in the regular season, the second-highest total among FBS running backs while his 56 targets were fourth. He was targeted on 21.6 percent of ASU aimed passes (balls not thrown away, spiked or batted) - the 15th-highest percentage of running backs nationally.
His 347 receiving yards in the regular season were sixth among all FBS running backs and his 42 receptions were tied for fifth in the nation.
Benjamin became the 253rd Sun Devil to be taken in the NFL Draft in program history and the third ASU tailback to go since 2014, joining Marion Grice (2014) and Kalen Ballage (2018). Historically, Sun Devil running backs and fullbacks have combined for 43,414 rushing yards in NFL history with 327 touchdowns.
Benjamin became the first Sun Devil player to be drafted by the Cardinals since Pat Tillman in 1998.
A 2018 All-American after breaking ASU's single season rushing mark, Benjamin finished with 2,867 rushing yards in his career and finished seventh on the school's all-time rushing list despite playing the majority of his time in just two seasons. His 576 rushing attempts were the sixth-most in school history. He was fifth in the country in 2018 with his school record 1,642 rushing yards.
He carried the ball a school-record 300 times in 2018 and compiled 253 rushing attempts in 2019, the third-highest total in program history.
Benjamin recorded 15 career games (six in 2019) with at least 100 rushing yards - good for 4th in program history. He also had 18 career games in which he reached century mark in total all-purpose yards.
Benjamin became the 20th Sun Devil in program history to reach 2,000 rushing yards with his effort against Colorado this season. The junior was one of just five three-year players in ASU history. to find themselves in the 2,000-yard club (Mario Bates, Ben Malone, Art Malone and Woody Green). Benjamin also joined the all-purpose 3,000-yard club this year (3,620) as he eclipsed the 3K all-purpose yards mark for his career against Utah.
He had at least one touchdown (rushing or receiving) in 18 games in his career. He had 27 career rushing touchdowns, only one shy of cracking the Top-5 in program history despite receiving the majority of his snaps in just two seasons. He had 32 total touchdowns (27 rushing, 4 receiving, and 1 blocked return) in his career.
The junior was 4th in the Pac-12 with 10 rushing touchdowns during the regular season. His 12 total touchdowns were fifth in the league and 37th nationally. He was 4th in the league with 119.17 all-purpose yards per game en route to his second straight placement on the All-Pac-12 First Team.
Benjamin continued to do his part to make people miss, forcing 72 missed tackles in the regular season - a total tied for 10th nationally among running backs. He was 22nd nationally with 739 yards after contact (68.2 percent of his 1,083 rushing yards). He forced 94 missed tackles as a sophomore, the third-highest total nationally.
He rushed for 19 first downs in the regular season when the team was facing third down - tied for 12th nationally among FBS running backs.
Benjamin helped rally the offense when attempting to come back, recording 22 rushing first downs when the team was trailing by 7 or fewer points - the second-highest total nationally in the regular season - while his seven rushing touchdowns while trailing by a touchdown or less were first in the FBS and his 354 yards in the situation were 8th nationally.
He played 341 snaps in passing routes in the regular season, the second-highest total among FBS running backs while his 56 targets were fourth. He was targeted on 21.6 percent of ASU aimed passes (balls not thrown away, spiked or batted) - the 15th-highest percentage of running backs nationally.
His 347 receiving yards in the regular season were sixth among all FBS running backs and his 42 receptions were tied for fifth in the nation.