Warchant Top 40: FSU star RB Trey Benson returns for another year, grabs No. 4 ranking
It’s time to look ahead to the 2023 Florida State football season with Warchant’s annual list of the Top 40 players on the Seminoles’ roster — the players we expect to make the biggest impact for FSU this fall. (Note: This is not necessarily the 40 most talented players, but the players we believe will have the opportunity and capability to make the biggest impact this season.)
The list was compiled through voting by Warchant’s Gene Williams, Ira Schoffel, Corey Clark, Jeff Cameron, Aslan Hajivandi and Tom Lang.
The Top 40 is being revealed in segments, continuing today with player No. 4. The final three players will be announced in the coming days.
Earlier Installments: Players No. 36-40 | Players No. 31-35 | Players No. 26-30 | Players 21-25 | Players 16-20 | Players 11-15 | Players 6-10 | Player No. 5 |
No. 4 – Junior RB Trey Benson
He started his career at Oregon, but wasn’t able to make any sort of mark for the Ducks.
Most of that was due to an injury that sidelined him for virtually an entire season, and when Trey Benson arrived at FSU in the spring of 2022, it was evident he had some real skills as a running back. He was big, fast and powerful.
But there were questions about how much of an impact he could make for the Seminoles. Namely, how fast would he come back from the injury and feel fully comfortable again? And how quickly would he adapt to Mike Norvell’s offense?
Well, the two answers were the same: Very fast.
Benson burst onto the scene last fall in his first year as a Seminole, rushing for 990 yards and nine touchdowns. He also had a memorable 93-yard touchdown return against Boston College on the opening kickoff.
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For the people who had doubts when he committed to FSU, Benson proved beyond a shadow of doubt that he not only belonged at this level, but he could be a star.
The Mississippi product shared time in the backfield with Lawrance Toafili and Treshaun Ward in 2022, but he still managed to become the first player ever to be named ACC Running Back of the Week for three straight weeks. He wound up winning the award four times total.
Benson’s combination of size, speed and power made him one of the toughest running backs to tackle in the country. According to Pro Football Focus, he broke more attempted tackles than any other player in the FBS and set a record in the process.
Benson also ranked first in the conference and 13th in the country with a 6.46 yards-per-carry average. And after racking up five 100-yard rushing games in 2022, Benson wants even more in 2023.
He wants to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for sure — FSU running backs coach David Johnson has said Benson actually left 200 to 300 yards on the field last year — and if he can do that, then Florida State figures to once again have one of the best rushing attacks in the United States.
Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.
