Benny Snell Declares For The NFL
While many True Blue Fans hoped this day wouldn’t come, it did on Friday. In a two minute video released by Kentucky, Benny Snell declares for the NFL Draft.
Remember me 4 what I am…#SnellYeah pic.twitter.com/716p4aN0jX
— Mr SNELL YA LATER👋🏾 (@benny_snell) December 14, 2018
However, in a big development the junior from Westerville, Ohio announced he will play in the Citrus Bowl. The Wildcats play Penn State on January 1st. In the video, Snell says “I have unfinished business. Whatever I start I finish.” Kentucky already got some good news when consensus All-American linebacker Josh Allen said he will also play in Orlando.
Also in the Twitter video, Snell says “there comes a time when you have to leave home and build a life of your own. That’s what I am about to do. I have decided to enter the NFL Draft and pursue a dream as long as I can remember.”
Snell needs 107 yards against the Nittany Lions to break Sonny Collins’ record of 3,835 yards. He currently owns 13 school records and ranks third all-time in SEC history with 46 touchdowns. The two players ahead of him are Tim Tebow with 57 and Herschel Walker with 49.
So far in his junior season, he has run for 1,305 yards and 14 touchdowns. In addition, he is the first player in Wildcat history to rush for 1,000 yards three years. His stats speak for himself and put him in some exclusive company.
Benny Snell is 1 of 16 players in FBS history with at least 3,729 career rushing yards and 46 career rushing touchdowns prior to their senior season. With a decent performance in the Citrus Bowl that list could dwindle even more.
— Corey Price (@coreyp08) December 14, 2018
How High Can He Go?
Following Snell’s final home game, a 34-23 win over Middle Tennessee, Coach Mark Stoops said he would talk with his star about the future. Stoops stated, “I don’t think it will be a long conversation.” Indeed it wasn’t as Snell made the announcement Friday.
One scouting service Walter Football.com ranks Snell as the third best running back in the 2019 draft behind Alabama’s Damien Harris and Bryce Love of Stanford. They project him as being taken in the second or third round.
Another service, Draftwire, rates him as the fourth best running back in the country. They have him going in the third round to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Should that happen he would be teammates with former Cat Bud Dupree.
Looking Ahead To 2019
While all the attention is on Snell and deservedly so, the cupboard is far from bare next season for Kentucky. A. J. Rose who has run for 433 yards and five touchdowns, is a junior and will be the lead back. In addition, Kavosiey Smoke and Chris Rodriguez return as well. Both freshmen showed promise in limited playing time this season. Plus you have a really good running quarterback in Terry Wilson who rushed for 518 yards with one game remaining.
Again, the day the Big Blue Nation hoped wouldn’t come did as Benny Snell declares for the NFL Draft. He still has one more game remaining but leaves behind an incredible legacy. As a three-star recruit coming out of high school, his dream was to go to Ohio State. However, that offer never came and he instead came to Lexington. He leaves Lexington as the best running back in school history.
