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Transfer Bennett bolsters ASU's defensive line
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Published: August 27, 2008
BOONE - The fact that Appalachian State -- for all it accomplished last season -- ranked a meager sixth in the eight-team Southern Conference in run defense isn't lost on Malcolm Bennett.
The Mountaineers needed help on the interior defensive line. And Bennett said he's ready to help.
"They made that a known fact when I came here for my visit," said Bennett, who is 6-2 and 279 pounds and transferred from Georgia Military College last winter. "They made sure I knew that they really needed me to help -- whether I started or not. That was one of the reasons I wanted to come here."
Bennett will be in the starting lineup at defensive tackle when Appalachian opens the season at LSU on Saturday.
"I think he's going to be an exceptional football player for us," said Mark Speir, the Mountaineers' defensive-line coach. "We're really excited about him. He established himself in the spring and has sustained that, having a good preseason camp. He's a very strong, powerful, quick and explosive guy."
John Wiley, the defensive coordinator, said of Bennett: "He's a strong, athletic football player with great work ethic. He has tremendous leverage and quickness for his size. We're glad to have him."
Bennett is the latest in the line of Georgia Military players with a chance to make an impact for the Mountaineers. The list includes Daniel Wilcox, now a tight end with the Baltimore Ravens, and Nygel Rogers, a defensive back who led the Spokane Shock of Arena Football 2 in tackles this season.
"Malcolm came ready to play," Wiley said. "Those Georgia Military guys are that way. They've been coached hard in high school, they play hard."
Speir said: "Malcolm came in, and it was like he had been here for three years. He's not a high-maintenance guy. He's a blue-collar, go-to-work guy who is happy to be here. He has great work habits, and he's a genuinely likable, good guy that everybody here has taken to."
Speir said that the Mountaineers' interior line will be more experienced and should be better this season. Junior Anthony Williams is back at the other tackle, and sophomore Bobby Bozzo and junior Daniel Finnerty both saw significant playing time last season, when ASU won its third straight national championship. Redshirt freshman Gordy Witte has joined the mix.
"We'll have a four- to five-man rotation that's pretty solid," Speir said. "I wouldn't say we have a lot of all-star candidates, but we'll have a good, solid rotation. We should be much better, without a doubt."
Bennett, who has two seasons of eligibility left, said that his biggest game to date was last year's season-ending Pilgrim's Pride Bowl Classic in Texas.
"That was a big deal for us," Bennett said. "It was on TV and everything. But this, playing LSU, is something else. I can't wait."
■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com.
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