UW’s Benton, Herbig eager for huge test
MADISON – Wisconsin teammates Keeanu Benton and Nick Herbig have talked quietly this week about the importance of UW's Big Ten opener Saturday at Ohio State.
“This is going to be a draft-changing game,” Benton, UW's senior nose tackle, said. “I feel like it's going to be a battle out there.”
The draft to which Benton referred is the 2023 NFL draft.
NFL scouts no doubt will be evaluating several Ohio State players throughout the season because the Buckeyes have seen at least one player selected in the first round of the draft in each of the last seven seasons.
The program's high mark was five first-round picks in 2016. A total of 42 Ohio State players have been picked in the last five drafts, an average of 8.4 per year.
“This is definitely a game they're going to look at,” said Herbig, a junior outside linebacker who could enter the 2023 draft. “Because Ohio State is top five in the country year in and year out. They have a high-caliber team.
“A lot of those guys are first-round draft picks. I think this is a game that a lot of NFL teams (will) evaluate. It is a huge game for our whole team.”
Benton and Herbig are arguably UW's top two defenders, players who if lost to injury would leave a gaping hole in coordinator Jim Leonhard's defense.
Herbig has four of UW's seven sacks and five of the team's 20 tackles for loss.
Benton has one tackle for loss and just four total tackles. But he is a rock whether Leonhard uses three linemen, two or just one depending on the scheme.
Herbig's ability to pressure Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, who has been sacked just twice in three games, will be critical.
Benton also can help apply pressure but he will be needed to help contain the Buckeyes' running game. The team's top four tailbacks are averaging between 57.0 and 69.0 rushing yards per game and have a combined six touchdowns.
“They are a physical group,” Leonhard said. “They have home run ability but they're going to make you tackle them every single play, which puts a lot of stress on you as a defense. They're going to try to break arm tackles and run you over if they have to.
“Tackling is week to week. You've got to do it. You've got to force yourself to be disciplined, especially out on the edges.
“You can't have a down play or a week off or you're going to get exposed.”
Benton was a freshman in 2019 when UW suffered a 38-7 loss in Columbus and a 34-21 loss in the Big Ten title game. He had a combined two sacks and four tackles in the games.
Herbig is set to face the Buckeyes for the first time.
“This is stuff you dream about,” Herbig said. “I know as a kid you watch guys like Ezekiel Elliott, seeing them play there. Now it is my turn to go play in that stadium.
“Just being able to compete against some of the best football players in the country, that is all you can ask for. That is why you play this sport.
“I'm ready to get after it.”
Ohio State is favored by 19 points and a reporter reminded Herbig not many people outside of the UW program believe the Badgers have a chance to pull off the upset.
“I'm not worried about people outside of this building,” Herbig said.