Caleb Benning’s breakout just gave Nebraska a good problem to have

Caleb Benning has been biding his time, waiting to become a starter at Nebraska. While he obviously never wanted to take a starting job because a teammate was injured, that’s how the cookie crumbled. Now that he’s there and showing what he can do, he’s impressing coaches enough that he’ll get more playing time even when the Huskers’ defensive backfield is back to full strength.

During his press conference on Tuesday, defensive coordinator Rob Aurich explained what Benning has done to impress the Husker coaches and how he offers something a bit different from Jamir Conn, whom he replaced due to injury.

Coaches have said starting safety Jamir Conn could return at some point this season. In his absence, Benning has taken over as Nebraska's starting safety. Aurich said they’re different players with different strengths and weaknesses. Conn is more “fleet of foot” and more similar to a “fourth corner” on the field. Benning is similar to safety Dwayne McDougle.

“He’s really good at the second level, he’s really good in run support,” Aurich said of Benning, who has 19 tackles this season. “He has a great feel for plays.”

Rob Aurich plans expanded Caleb Benning role even after Jamir Conn returns

Benning got his first career start in Nebraska’s loss to Oregon. While the Ducks rallied and eventually won in the fourth quarter, it certainly wasn’t because Benning didn't try.

The defensive back tallied 12 tackles, 2 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, and 2.5 tackles for loss. Unsurprisingly, those numbers were all career highs.

Last season, Benning didn’t start a game, but he played in 11 and was a positive force when he was on the field. Still, in just six games this year, he’s almost matched his career-high 20 tackles in a season.

The son of Nebraska running back and current Husker staffer Damon Benning wasn’t a high-profile prospect out of high school. He was a 3-star defensive back/athlete in the 2024 recruiting class. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound prospect played for Omaha Westside. Benning finished his recruitment ranked No. 588 in the 2024 class, No. 56 among safeties, and No. 4 in Nebraska, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.

However, he clearly showed great talent during his high school career. As a senior in 2023, Benning recorded 43 tackles, 6 interceptions, 19 passes defended, and seven tackles for loss while helping the Warriors finish 13-0 and win their second consecutive Nebraska Class A state championship.

Offensively, he caught 45 passes for 602 yards and 7 touchdowns and added more than 500 return yards, including 324 punt-return yards. As a sophomore, Benning recorded 68 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 4 interceptions while catching 11 passes for roughly 175 yards. Injury limited his junior season to four games, but he returned for the state championship game and intercepted two passes.

Caleb Benning will have another chance to show what he can do when he starts and gets significant playing time this Saturday, when Nebraska takes on the Washington Huskies at 7 pm on Halloween night.

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