SASKATOON — Bryan Bennett hasn’t had many days off — or many off days — since joining the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The 25-year-old quarterback signed with the Roughriders in November after spending the 2016 season on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ practice roster.
Since joining the Roughriders, Bennett has been working diligently to prepare himself for his first season with Saskatchewan — and the effort has paid dividends. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound product of Tarzana, Calif., was impressive at the Roughriders’ mini-camp in Florida in April and he has been equally good during their training camp at Griffiths Stadium.
“It always feels good when you put in work and see a positive result come from it,” Bennett — who’s battling Brandon Bridge, Vince Young and Marquise Williams for the backup job behind Kevin Glenn — said after Thursday’ssession on the University of Saskatchewan campus. “I’ve got to keep working, though.
“That’s what I’ve learned over the years. It doesn’t take one good day or two good days. You’ve got to be a pro and you’ve got to do it every day.”
Bennett has displayed a fine arm and has made good decisions with the football during camp. When he has pulled down the ball and run, he has shown good speed and elusiveness.
As head coach-GM Chris Jones said Thursday, Bennett “has got a little bit of Mike in him.” That’s high praise: Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly is one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the CFL.
The fact that Bennett has been consistent through mini-camp and training camp seems to impress everyone but him.
“I expect myself to do well and when I don’t, I’m pretty hard on myself,” he said. “You’ve got to find that balance and not get too down on yourself when it happens.
“I know I have the skill set to do it, so if I put in the work mentally, watch the film, have a plan and a schedule each day and stick to it, positive things usually come from that.”
They have throughout Bennett’s career.
After he was ranked the No. 10 quarterback in the United States by Scout.com during his senior season at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, Calif., Bennett was recruited by the University of Oregon Ducks.
He ascended to No. 2 on their depth chart behind starter Darron Thomas late in the 2010 season and filled that role again in 2011. After Thomas departed, the Ducks staged a competition for the starting job in 2012 — and Bennett lost out to future Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota.
“Being at Oregon was a blessing,” said Bennett, whose YouTube highlight packages feature commentary by broadcasters like Gus Johnson and Brent Musburger. “Coming out of high school and being a young kid, getting to experience the Taj Mahal of college football at the time was a great experience.”
After the 2012 season — and after hearing talk that he might be moved to safety — Bennett decided to transfer to Southeastern Louisiana University.
Because that’s a Football Championship Subdivision school, Bennett didn’t have to sit out a year under NCAA transfer regulations. He played the 2013 and ’14 seasons with the Lions, who deployed him only at quarterback.
“Going to Southeastern was a different experience,” Bennett said. “It’s kind of humbling going from the top to an FCS school. Things are way different. But that made me realize, ‘I’m not here for the bells and whistles. We’re here to play football and win games.’ ’’
Bennett passed for 5,522 yards and 39 touchdowns and added 1,715 rushing yards and 31 TDs in his career at Southeastern. He was a first-team conference all-star in both seasons and was on the watch list for the Walter Payton Award — presented to the top player in FCS football — in 2014.
Bennett wasn’t selected in the 2015 NFL draft, so he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts. He then joined the Bombers for the last three weeks of the 2015 season and was back in Winnipeg for 2016.
“That helped (him learn the CFL game) a ton,” Bennett said. “Being at practice, I was able to stand behind the quarterbacks, take my drops and make my reads. Even though I didn’t really get a snap from the pre-season on — aside from some practice snaps here and there — I was able to see defences, break down film and prepare for a game week as if I was going to play.”
If watching games helped Bennett figure out the CFL, it also helped him realize he wanted more. That could be what the Roughriders have seen since they signed him.
“We’re all competitors; we all want to play,” Bennett said. “We’ve all gone from being one of the best guys on our team in college — if not the best guy — to the humbling experience of having to sit and watch.
“That fire burns a little bit and it keeps going. It either makes you or breaks you and I did my best to try to have it make me.”
That hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“He comes prepared every day,” Jones said. “If you’ve watched him in the weight room like I have, he’s not one of those guys standing back looking to see if anybody’s watching; he’s leading the group.
“Football means a lot to that guy.”
