ANDERSON — Coming to Anderson University from the powerhouse program at Delta High School in Muncie, senior Chance Benbow was hoping to carry his success — he went 21-3 in his junior and senior seasons — into his college career.
Entering the final game of his career this Saturday against Manchester, though, Benbow’s college record stands at 12-29.
“It was really difficult for me because you expect to win every game you go into,” said Benbow, a three-year starter at safety. “But that wasn’t the case here. It was tough to not have that attitude.”
Before this season began, an offseason full of workouts with safety Luke Hurst, quarterback Mitch Grider, running back Darryl Stott and kicker Tristan Cork, “helped us regain some of that swagger,” said Benbow. “But once we got into the games, it just didn’t happen.”
It hasn’t helped that all four of the players Benbow worked out with have dealt with injuries this season, along with dozens of other Ravens. Benbow said he’s struggled with trying not to do too much in the absence of his teammates.
“One of our team philosophies is to take care of your individual responsibilities,” he said. “It’s tough, though, because football is such a team sport, and you need everyone. But you can only do so much as one player.”
Both on and off the field, head coach Jeff Judge said Benbow, who has 93 tackles and five interceptions in his career, has been a big part of the Ravens football program.
“On the field he’s done a great job of leadership,” said Judge. “He’s certainly been very versatile this year, playing both corner and safety. Having the ability to understand our defense enough to play any position in the defensive backfield has been important because we’ve been so banged up on defense.”
Aside from leading the team’s “Gridiron” club, which meets Monday nights for Bible studies, Benbow has also helped his team with recruiting.
“Stott and Hurst wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Benbow,” said Judge.
Benbow, a marketing major, created a PowerPoint presentation that helped convince Stott to transfer from Ball State to AU.
“It was about 20 pages long,” said Judge. “He did it just like you’d approach it from a marketing standpoint, and he tailored it to what he thought were Stott’s interests. It was unusual to have a player do that, but he’s done it on several occasions.”
That marketing ability is part of what lies ahead for Benbow when he graduates this May: Unity Marketing, company co-founded by Benbow and his roommate Andy Kennedy. A late-night conversation in the library led to the creation of the company, which features three Anderson University students: Benbow, Kennedy and Chris Russell, a close friend and teammate of Benbow’s.
“Luckily, we’ve been able to have a few clients that have taken a chance on us and let us do some work for them,” said Benbow. “It’s worked out really well.”
If Brett Favre had the post-football aspirations that Benbow does, he might have retired five years ago.
“We’re going to keep at it with the intention of doing this forever,” Benbow continued. “But as graduation approaches, if we don’t get enough clients to make us sustainable, then the worst-case scenario is that we interview for a different marketing job and we’re able to tell them that it’s our second time doing this. For a college graduate, that’s rare.”
While his professional future looks bright, Benbow said he’s not regretting his decision to play football at AU, despite not having a single winning season in his four-year career.
“It was difficult to wake up at 6 a.m. four days a week, and it makes it even worse when you don’t win,” said Benbow. “But in spite of all that happened, I did enjoy my time here. It’s easy to take away a negative attitude with the way the year went, but I still appreciate the teammates I’ve had and the way the coaches have prepared us to try to win.”
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