I've had the pleasure of interviewing prospects on my YouTube channel leading up to the NFL Draft, including University of British Columbia offensive lineman Theo Benedet. Enjoy a part of our interview. You can find the full interview here.
I know that a lot of people felt a way about you ultimately deciding to return for another year at the University of British Colombia (UBC) after starting the draft process a bit last year. You had even participated in the Shrine Bowl, and then you decided to defer. Walk me through that decision because I have to imagine it wasn't an easy one.
No definitely not. I mean I think definitely my path at this point in the draft process has definitely been unorthodox. The rules in Canada kind of allow for that in terms of going back to school even if you've gone through part of the pro process which obviously is impossible in the NCAA. In some ways I kind of wanted to take advantage of that. I think it helped me last year going to the Shrine and just kind of getting my name out there South of the Border. We had no teams come to visit [UBC] during the 2022 season then I had 18 NFL teams come up to Vancouver this year. So, I think part of it was wanting to get my name out there, part of it was also just from a team perspective. I thought we had a really good squad and unfinished business. I wanted to win a National Championship. Unfortunately, we lost in the National final this year but that was something I wanted to pursue and felt like this was my best chance to win one. I've been happy with my decision since then. I think I've helped myself more with my film this year and excited for what's to come.
Let me ask you a little bit about your game and film study. When you're game planning, what are the things you look for in an opponent on tape?
Yeah, obviously with the way the game is now and then especially in Canada with how much passing there is, as an offensive lineman you're recognized for your ability to pass protect. So, I start individually with the rushers, breaking down what allows them to be successful. I'll chart all their favorite moves that they've used. If they've beaten a tackle, I'll chart their move. Then I'll chart what that tackle did to get beat and that kind of helps me find patterns that I can boil down to simpler
thoughts that I can take with me into the game. Then along with getting to know the individual players, trying to understand what they're doing as a defense to stop teams I think can give you a lot of tells on what the rushers will do.
You mentioned Canadian football is very pass-heavy. So, what is your comfort level with run blocking?
Yeah I mean, we were pretty relative to other Canadian teams pretty run-heavy offense so I've had good coaching in terms of that. Then yeah, the big difference coming down here has been that in Canada the D-line is a yard off the ball and so not having that has been an adjustment just in terms of having to change your footwork you've got to speed things up. It's a little bit more important to gain ground off the line of scrimmage. Just learning how to adapt to not having that yard has been something that's part of the reason why I wanted to go to the Shrine last year and then the CGS this year, was just to get more and more reps at what that looks like in the American game.
What was it like participating at the CGS Allstar, especially after having done the Shrine Bowl last season? Did you feel like that kind of prepared you and you knew what to expect this time around?
Yeah, I think it helped me a lot last year. A lot of the Shrine for me was just getting acclimated to the American game, American athletes and kind of adjusting to what that looks like. I think that showed at The Shrine throughout the week. I felt that I was getting better and better every day. It kind of gave me a platform this year to have some more confidence heading into the CGS which I feel I quite honestly dominated in the practice. So yeah, I think it helped me a lot.
I love that confidence. It definitely showed. I saw some clips of you at the Shrine Bowl last year and it looked like you were dominant and comfortable there as well. At either one of those bowl games, I assume you had a chance to speak to scouts while you were there. Were there any conversations that stood out to you?
Yeah, I think that was really helpful for me just to talk to scouts. I got a lot of feedback in terms of where they felt I could still improve in terms of still adding weight, and getting stronger. Some of them told me that part of what will help me at the next level is positional versatility so I learned how to snap this offseason. That's given me a lot of ground to work on.
I could probably imagine they like the size you possess and one of the [live chat] comments here is pointing out your size: 6'7 305 pounds. Are you still at that current weight or are you aiming for a higher weight right now?
Yeah I mean, gaining weight's kind of been a continual process for me since I got to college and we're still doing that now. We're not set on what I'll come into at pro day exactly yet but I don't think I'll be playing in the NFL at 305. I think I'll be heavier than that once I get on the field.
I saw you played track. There's some athleticism involved in that too. Do you feel like that gives you an advantage on the field?
Yeah, definitely. I think there's a lot of translation between shot put and driving off your leg and it's really the same motion as path setting almost. So yeah I think there's definitely translation in terms of the training and the practice for that onto the field. And like you said, there's an athleticism that you need for both that I think has helped me. There's a guy who I can't remember his name - he played for the 49ers and won an Olympic medal in the shot put not too long ago. But anyway, seeing that guys like Jonathan Ogden threw the shot put in college too, seeing some guys like that - I think helped me see how that could almost help my game.
What's your mindset there when you're on a pulling block?
I think my athleticism and my ability to move is one of my strengths so I get excited when I hear the quarterback call a play that calls for me to pull. Once I get on the move, obviously footwork is key but then at the point of attack, technique kind of goes out the window and it's just how hard you want to smack the guy. Especially when you see those little linebackers and DBs looking at you with the big wide eyes, it's exciting.
Last question, what is a team or a fan base getting with Theo Benedict both on and off the field?
I would say a guy who's obsessed with improving as a player; obsessed with maximizing what I can contribute to a team, and somebody who's willing to mold myself into whatever the coaches want me and need me to do for the team.