Oak Park’s Benny flips, signs with U-M
The flipping of Oak Park 4-star defensive lineman Rayshaun Benny from Michigan State to Michigan at the eleventh hour might wind up being the turning point in the Jim Harbaugh era of Wolverine football.
Benny (6-5, 280) committed to Michigan State on Nov. 9, but signed at the last minute with Michigan on Wednesday. He was swayed to become a Wolverine by Harbaugh’s staff overhaul, which included bringing in former West Bloomfield head coach Ron Bellamy as the program’s new receivers coach, Indiana running backs coach Mike Hart as Harbaugh’s associate head coach and Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach
Mike Macdonald to run the defense. Bellamy, Hart and Harbaugh are all Michigan alums.
Harbaugh reorganized his coaching staff after signing a much-speculated upon extension in the wake of a 2-4 COVID-19 shortened campaign, where the Wolverines got upset by Michigan State, lost bad to Indiana and Wisconsin and closed down their season three games early because of Coronavirus infections.
Bellamy, who led West Bloomfield to its first ever football state championship last month and has coached against Benny at Oak Park the past three seasons before accepting his new gig in Ann Arbor, was reportedly integral in getting the high-motor defensive tackle to switch allegiances from
the Green and White to the Maize and Blue.
24/7 Sports Midwest Recruiting Coordinator Allen Trieu sees the Benny signing at Michigan as a potential “Ah, ha” moment in getting the embattled Harbaugh regime over the proverbial hump.
“This is a big get for Michigan in a lot of ways,” he said. “You’re talking an in-state kid and he fills a position of need and in the process you’re stealing a prized recruit from your rival, it’s a home run. It will definitely give this staff rebuild a boost. A flip of this size is something you can leverage into the next recruiting cycle.”
Benny started on both sides of the ball on the line from his sophomore year forward at Oak Park. He won OAA White league titles in 2018 and 2019 and this past season, he came roaring back from a knee injury to spark the Knights on an improbable run to the final four. Minus Benny in the lineup, Oak Park was 0-6 in the regular season prior to catching fire in the playoffs with the big fella back on the field wreaking havoc. Because of the pandemic, the MHSAA expanded the playoffs and allowed every team to qualify.
Oak Park lost a 26-20 heartbreaker in overtime to Warren De La Salle in the Division 2 state semifinals. In his five playoff games, Benny collected 48 tackles and 4 sacks. His recruiting portfolio included 39 offers, with bids from Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Auburn, LSU, USC, Florida State, Oregon, Texas A&M and Miami (FL).