Q&A: Brent Benedict confirms dispute with Georgia’s new strength coach
Q&A WITH BRENT BENEDICT
Benedict
Brent Benedict has packed up all his things and left Athens. The big offensive lineman has taken up temporary residence at a friend’s house in Roswell. But he won’t be there long. He’ll relocate to Blacksburg, Va., the first week of August. Benedict, who was granted an unconditional release by the University of Georgia after he abruptly quit the team on June 26th, settled on the Virginia Tech Hokies as his transfer destination on Monday. He chose it over Florida, Clemson and a few others. Benedict talked with the AJC on Tuesday in his first extensive interview about the circumstances that led to his decision to leave a program to which he’d been committed since the summer of 2009. He confirmed that it stemmed mainly from a disagreement with new strength and conditioning coordinator Joe Tereshinski over training methods and philosophies. At the same time, Benedict also allowed that what the Bulldogs are doing may work. He also expressed appreciation and gratitude to Georgia for getting him past a severe knee injury and insisted he genuinely wishes for success for the Bulldogs this season and from now on. Following is my conversation with Benedict in Q&A form. . . .
Q: So it’s official then. You’re going to be a Hokie?
A: “Yep, I’m headed up to Virginia Tech. Camp will be starting in August and I’ll be up there then. I talked to Coach [Frank] Beamer and he said that this year I’ll be able to practice but I won’t be allowed to travel or to play. So it’ll be another year and then I’ll have three years after that.”
Q: Did you visit Blacksburg before you committed?
A: “I was up there for visit this past weekend. I got to walk around and check it out a little bit. I actually visited there initially the first time I was recruited.”
Q: So what are your feelings as you leave the University of Georgia?
A: “The University of Georgia was very good to me and my family, Coach [Mark] Richt was good to me and my family and, obviously, Mr. [Greg] McGarity was also. I really appreciate how they handled my release and Coach Richt sticking with me after the knee injury. I’m very grateful for that.”
Q: It seemed abrupt. It seemed like things were fine, your knee was recovering, you were moving up the depth chart. What happened?
A: “It’s just like Coach Richt said and like I said, it was personal issues. And, you know, it just seemed like it was something we weren’t able to resolve. I talked to Coach Richt about it and we both felt it was best for us to go our separate ways.”
Q: Didn’t you actually make the decision first and then wait to talk to Coach Richt when he came back from his mission trip to Honduras?
A: “Yes. I wanted to talk to Coach Richt to see if things could be resolved before I decided to leave. I really felt that was the last-case scenario. That was the last thing I wanted to do was to leave the program. So I talked to Coach Richt and we weren’t able to work things out. So, unfortunately, that’s the way it ended up. But Coach Richt was very gracious and granted me an unconditional release and I’m very grateful for that.”
Q: I understand this mainly had to do with not seeing eye-to-eye with new strength and conditioning coach Joe Tereshinki about training techniques with respect to your injury. I know he’s employing some old-school philosophies with a lot of lower-body work. Is that what this was about?
A: “Coach Tereshinski came in and he has his own philosophy and he and the coaching staff believe that it’s going to work and there’s no reason not to believe that. So, there were a few things going on and I wasn’t able to resolve that. Of course I hope Georgia does well, extremely well. I’ve told all my buddies back there I wish them the best of luck and I really believe it will be successful.”
Q: Before your knee injury you projected as an elite-level left tackle. You were a backup at right guard before you left Georgia. Is your goal to get back to playing tackle at Virginia Tech?
A: “I will do my best to contribute anywhere I can for Virginia Tech when I head up there. If that’s guard, if that’s tackle, it’s fine with me. I think I’ll definitely be in position to [play either]. I’m just hoping they’ll need me to help and allow me to contribute as much as I can.”
Q: Florida was one of the schools to court you this time around. Was it difficult for you to consider the Gators given the intensity of the rivalry between them and the Bulldogs?
A: “The University of Georgia was an awesome place for me coming out of high school. I love the school, I love the people there, I love my teammates. It was very difficult for me to leave. You know, Florida was one of the schools that offered me a scholarship the second time. They’re a big-time SEC school and they’re as strong as anybody is. But, you know, the ultimate decision came down to I felt like Virginia Tech was the best place for me and that’s why I ended up there.”
Q: I know you’re close friends with a lot of your fellow linemen at UGA. How’d they take this news?
A: “I’ll still stay in touch with them. I’ll be lifelong friends with a lot of those guys. I hope they do well this year and I’m sorry I can’t be a part of it with them.”
Q: You know Georgia’s depth situation on the offensive line. Any part of you feel like you left them in a pinch?
A: “It is a little bit thin up there right now and that’s unfortunate. But I think those guys are strong enough that they’ll be able to get through it together.”
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306 comments Add your comment
Mr. SEC
July 13th, 2011
10:01 am
“The last thing I wanted to do is leave the program”, that is BS! Where do kids get this from about they will run the football team, not the coaches! Well spoken in his interview, but he avoided the truth in some questions and lied in others. Not only did he “let his team” down, though he refers to them as life long friends; I guess II come from the old school where I wanted to be with my friends that had my back and encouraged me daily. Bruce will find that VT is loaded in the OL and he will be in a fight daily to find a LITTLE playing time, I hope he does think that he is going to walk in and be a starter at anytime. I commend Joe T. for wearing that A__ out trying get not only Bruce, but all players to contribute ALL that they can be for UGA. Bruce needs to look down the road and face some hard facts, he is not a starter D-1 SEC lineman, and will not be at VT either. But, all in all, I’m glad to see ALL of these sorry attitudes get the H___ out UGA, if your not in 100%, I do not want to see you there. 2011 OL may look “thin” at UGA, but we have played for the last several years with a highly touted OL that ALWAYS turned out to be the pits, a bunch of cry babies and “I’m a NFL prospect” attitude. We have 13 OL at UGA, most of wich is very young, so what? Our veteran line has not lived up to the challege in YEARS. Could it be that Joe T. is getting the job done and some can’t take it? Good, give me somebody who willing to step up and not just run the mouth and cry. The UGA nation is calling for the return of the “Good Ole Days at UGA” well. Joe T. is doing just that. We don”t need elephants that can lift cars, we need quick OL-men, and that is exactly what Joe T. is doing. Don’t expect a 5 star running back to gain 1000 yds with an OL that can’t do their job and get their A__ out of the way, or a QB to throw for 250 yds a game when the OL is not fast enough to fill a hole before the DL-men or LB’s sacks his butt. Joe T. is training those guys for their positions; I grant you there are other position players that are being trained for more strength and speed. Never forget one of the first basic rules of OL football, “there is no replacement for speed and quickness”! That will be taught at any great football school; Maybe Bruce will learn that at VT if he wants to survive.
I’m behind Joe T. 100% (been there, done that with him)! It will take a year or 2 to get the recruits there and get them position ready, we will not see miracles this year on the OL, but I grant you, those 13 guys will be ready to hang in there better than they have in past years.
Bye Bruce!
dapperdanman
July 13th, 2011
10:01 am
I think it still comes down to having more time to recover. If he was not ready physically, or mentally, to contribute and work-out to the fullest this will give him another year to lick his wound before he can be judged as a player. He may never pan out as a college player, or NFL. He and his family are just doing what they can to get that NFL paycheck one day. Say all you want about how well he interviewed or spoke of the team and coaches, but they did more for him by giving him the chance to come and get the best rehab he could get. Seems pretty selfish to me to say “thanks for the free medical support, but I want another year of workers comp before I try to start work”.
Stagger
July 13th, 2011
10:01 am
Oh so we didn’t think there would be negative consequences to promoting our film coordinator to S&C Coach??? Thank God we only have one year left to the Richt era.
SH
July 13th, 2011
10:03 am
True is we are not as strong as several of the top teams in the SEC. It was very obvious when look at our success rate on short yardage situations, third and one, third and two, forth and one etc. overall team strength is a top priority and UGA has loss that over the past several years. The program is call strength and conditioning and they are not mutually exclusive, you want and need both. They best example overall is Alabama. I was in Alabama during the Shula era and although I liked Mike Shula, the Alabama team was soft and not representative of traditional Alabama teams. Under Saban Alabama is tough, hard hitting, well conditioned and STRONG. Running backs that are strong and break tackles, linemen that are strong, be it country or whatever. Aside from everything else if your physically strong, stronger than the guy across from you, your more confident and a better player. All of these things are important but you have to identify your weaknesses and set a program to improve. That’s what UGA did and I’m waiting to see the improvement on the field.
Go Dawgs.
ATL Sports Fan
July 13th, 2011
10:04 am
Dawgs, you said “He needs stamina”. You build stamina by running long distances and repitions. You can not and will not build up stamina from runnng 5-15 yards over and over again. You have to be in shape to hold up for 30 to 35 minutes a game. You also have to be agile. So your telling me since “you played the game” you never ran more than 400 meters in practice?
Gone With The WInd
July 13th, 2011
10:04 am
It seems the UGA coaches have more “issues” than the players.
Mr. SEC
July 13th, 2011
10:05 am
To: bubba4dawgs
You don’t know what in the H___ your talking about!
Dawgs
July 13th, 2011
10:06 am
ATL, internship? Impressive. D2, more so. And exactly what has FSU accomplished running all those miles in the years since VanHalanger left? Exactly nothing. mediocre at best. You proved my point for me, thank you.
hornblowermg
July 13th, 2011
10:09 am
another whiney-butt out the door. good riddance, and please hold the door open for the rest of your spoiled brat friends so that they can leave, too. good work, Coach T. !
Dawgs
July 13th, 2011
10:09 am
You think college teams line up and run 400m sprints at practice? Have you ever watched football? Yes, we ran more than 400m, but not at one time. Shorter sprints, faster pace, less recovery is where stamina comes from.
Gone With The WInd
July 13th, 2011
10:10 am
The last thing the kid wanted to do was leave the UGA program,
but Coach Richt said hit the road to Virginia Tech.
2 field goals and a cloud of Bobo
July 13th, 2011
10:12 am
Bobo and the rest of the UGA coaches are the real spoiled brats making big money in the process.
AfghanHound
July 13th, 2011
10:14 am
I heard Andre Ware suggest on TV that it could be rough sledding for UGa running backs this year (as he pointed out the dreadful performance of the running game over past 6-8 yrs), adding that this yr. the OL would be even worse off. Do you think this might have an impact on Keith Marshall, the RB out of NC who will be making his decision this fall? UNC is supposedly building a monster OL to go with its already monster DL.
ATL Sports Fan
July 13th, 2011
10:16 am
Dawgs, I can’t help but laugh at you. So what has UGA done under Van Halanger lately? I wouldn’t even say mediocre. Thanks you proved my point. But since you asked, when I was working with the FSU S&C in 2003 they went 10-3 and played in the Orange Bowl. Guess requiring your OL to run a mile everyday paid off.
DougsMugs
July 13th, 2011
10:16 am
I think he is just buying an extra year for his knee to heal. It was a strategic, long term decision of his, his dad’s and maybe even Richt and the rest of the UGA coaches for his best opportunity to recover.
Mr. SEC
July 13th, 2011
10:18 am
To: Gone with the Wind
Remember, the choice wasBruce’s, not Richt’s. CMR left the final decision up to him, he was not kicked off of the team. CMR is doing his job, “if you ain’t all in it, get out”!
NCBulldawg86
July 13th, 2011
10:18 am
Ummmm…. Mr. SEC, shouldn’t that be “Brent”, not Bruce. You must be an old Braves fan too. Brent Benedict, Brent. Hey, we all do it, it just made me smile is all.
Gone With The WInd
July 13th, 2011
10:19 am
The kid is leaving a 6-7 Georgia team to play for 10-3 Virginia Tech..
Dirty Dawg
July 13th, 2011
10:21 am
I don’t know what the kid was thinking but it must have involved the feeling, his, his Dad’s, or both, that the ‘lower-body’ strength work (that would be the legs if I’m not mistaken, including the knees) was too much for his, still not-yet ready, knee. Otherwise, CMR would be questioning Coach Joe T’s approach and intervening on his (the kid’s) behalf. Clearly Mark Richt must be pleased with the results thus far – guys are getting bigger, stronger and faster – or he’da, quietly had Joe T. alter the kid’s development work…but since they planned on using him this fall, he needed to be ready and able and could only be confident in that if he performed in practice first. Give him another year and who knows…but I can’t see Va Tech being any less demanding in their preparation.
NCBulldawg86
July 13th, 2011
10:21 am
Hey ATL Sports fan…. about that FSU team. Isn’t that the one UGA beat down in the 2002 Sugar Bowl? Pretty sure that is the case. Great S&C you all had back then. Glad to see how well it did against UGA. Get out of here with your BS.
NCBulldawg86
July 13th, 2011
10:22 am
Excuse me, the 2002 team in the 2003 Sugar Bowl.
ATL Sports Fan
July 13th, 2011
10:22 am
Afhan Hound, Andre Ware must have not looked at our rushing stas for the past 6-8 years. I’ll give him the past two years but really dreadful for 6-8 years.
2004- 1882 yds
2005- 2108 yds
2006- 1656 yds
2007- 2305 yds
2008- 1928 yds
2009- 2093 yds
2010- 1854 yds
Dawgs
July 13th, 2011
10:23 am
One good year, congrats. Wasnt that the year after FSU was embarassed by UGA in the Sugar Bowl?
ATL Sports Fan
July 13th, 2011
10:26 am
NC Bulldawg- No, I was down there for the 2003 season and the 2004 Orange Bowl. Being a Dawg alum its tough to argue with other I guess UGA fans about what goes on in the program when Joe T knows what he is doing. You all have to understand Joe T is the S&C director. There will be a person hire for football only soon, probably after the season.
JB
July 13th, 2011
10:26 am
Do not respond to GWTW. He is a Techie who post here under several different names. He uses them for a day and then gone, only to show up again and just needle Dawg fans with one liners, not really responding to anyone or thing in particular.
CecilDawg
July 13th, 2011
10:27 am
The kid left, therefore, he must be soft, wuss, trouble, etc…. Hey, the kid is leaving, with class. Why all the judgments ? Some people gotta have a strong opinion on everything ?
Bishop Cecil Newton
July 13th, 2011
10:28 am
What was his signing bonus?
C’mon AJC, why don’t you try and report something of interest.
I’m sure I could’ve negotiated a higher bonus than he got.
ATL Sports Fan
July 13th, 2011
10:29 am
Dawgs, I am a UGA graduate and yes I was happy UGA beat FSU. All I am saying is the S&C coordinator noticed that the players (especially the line) were gassed late in games and he instituted them running a mile everyday from February through July and to submit their times. It worked well as their stamina and drive was there for the 2003 season. So was that a shot at me because I worked under the staff who was beat by the school in which I graduated from and was a baseball lettemen?
JB
July 13th, 2011
10:30 am
But he is the reason, even with all our troubles, it so much fun beating Tech every year. Johnson has really run that program in the ground. Doubt they will be Bowl eligible this year. In Year 4, you would think a new hire would have his system in and players in place and have the program on the up tick.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 13th, 2011
10:31 am
Cry me a river.
RedandBlackDAWG
July 13th, 2011
10:32 am
I think it might be nice, if there were a journalist out there, who could do some research and find out, how the S and C program at UGA compares now to the the ones at other SEC schools. I see a lot of comments on here condemning Coach T. but a lot of us have never played or coached at this level of competition, so we are no experts. I would bet though, that UGA’s program is probably in line pretty closely with the other schools, and possibly, the increasing toughness of the program, has led to a couple of the folks looking for an easy way out. UGA does not lack for speed, or athleticism. We showed last year, that we lacked stamina. With the youth we are going to be depending on this year, that added conditioning may go a long way, to making them better prepared for a long season of learning and playing.
AltamahaDawg
July 13th, 2011
10:34 am
Well maybe the Trainers do talk to the Doctors when it comes to rehabing a player coming off of major knee surgery? Whatcha think?
Dawgs
July 13th, 2011
10:39 am
Atl, not a shot at you at all. Look, there are lots of ways to skin a cat. Fsu has theirs, VT, UNC, Bama all have theirs and UGA has had lots of success in the past with theirs as well. lots of reasons the past two years were not to par, I personally think its recruiting, but we wont know about the new S&C program until it happens. Go Dawgs!
Mobile Dawg
July 13th, 2011
10:42 am
Nah Altamaha, the mechanics always know more than the engineers.
Dr. Don
July 13th, 2011
10:42 am
Only time will tell if the new S/C coach is successful. Motivation is one thing in the weight room – and necessary. However, S/C is a science that has changed dramatically in the last decade. If this “ole school” coach hasn’t kept up with the changes (or if his many assistants haven’t)then the results will be less than optimal. I am sure most programs have a “screamer” to get the players motivated. The difference is most likely “What” they are screaming for the players to do.
Return to Glory
July 13th, 2011
10:44 am
Not tough enough, get on board or get out of Athens.
I am tired of whinning, quiting babies, no wonder we have not won anything the last several years.
Suck it up, rub some dirt on it, do the work, play hard, hustle and WIN.
Kids these days don’t want to work for it and earn it they want it handed to them on a silver platter when it is not they quit or flunk out.
Dawgs
July 13th, 2011
10:47 am
Dr. Don, best comment all day. Well said.
Mobile Dawg
July 13th, 2011
10:49 am
Dr. Don would be an engineer in the process. Theory Y, or theory X, CMR has been a theory Y coach, sounds like Coach T is running a theory X S&C program.
@ATL Sports Fan
July 13th, 2011
10:54 am
Kudos to you for asking the right questions of Tide Roll, but he cannot afford to answer as to whether Bama recruited Newton or not.
He will either have to admit that Chizik outrecruited him, OR that Saban passed on the “greatest college quarterback of all time” for other reasons. That would bring up questions as to why Saban would do that, and maybe schools that passed on Newton in 2010 had a legitimate reason.
In other words, Tide Roll is in a box, and I will be shocked if he answers either way on Bama’s recruitment or non recruitment of Newton.
Joey
July 13th, 2011
10:57 am
The way I’m trying to look at it regarding Coach T is, he can’t be any worse than his predecessor. It does tick me off a little that Richt created an “administration job” for his unproducing pal, instead of canning him.
Probably even got a raise, like the RB coach, whose pupils couldn’t even pass block for Murray . . .
JB
July 13th, 2011
10:58 am
I think the stakes are high in Athens right now and I think they all know it( Staff). The team are 17to 21 year olds and life and death and mortgage payments ain’t on their radar. Playing ball and girls mostly.
Nobody is more aware of the critical situation to put a good product on the field this year as Richt and his staff are. There are probably 100 jobs at stake. Support them and enjoy the season. It’s sports.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 13th, 2011
11:00 am
I think if I where CMR I would have gone with the new philosophy in S&C. Time will tell if it will work,but I like the more scientific approach to it. I wonder exactly what about Coach Joe T and his philosophy sold Richt on hiring him?
Contractor
July 13th, 2011
11:08 am
Not really sure why people are so elated that he didn’t choose Florida. Who cares where the kid goes. He is one man, and can not beat us by himself. Now I don’t know the entire story obviously, but it’s good that Coach Joe is pushing these guys till they about break, because that wasn’t being done before, and they became soft. This old school mentality works, and people were tougher back in the day. I’m 27, and think that players today are a lot softer than the ones before my generation, so it excites me that Georgia is heading back to the days of busting ass in the weight room, and watching it show on the field this Fall. See you later Benedict, best of luck, but you won’t amount to much if you continue to not want to work. And we all know the coaches weren’t going to push him to where he hurt his knee again in the weight room. Their job is to make sure these guys are taken care of first and foremost, so my belief is he didn’t like being pushed to his potential, but that’s just my two cents.
AfghanHound
July 13th, 2011
11:11 am
ATL sports fan, I was probably a little too loose in what I said. I believe he must have been talking about where UGa’s offense stood nationally. For most of those years it was way down in the 70-th, 80-th range. as I remember. He made a point of it on ESPN.
Mobile Dawg
July 13th, 2011
11:12 am
Lowcountry, CMR is in crisis mode, looking at his track record for hires, and the way he’s administrated his program overall should answer your question. If he successfully gets through this year I think he will be able to make more educated decisions on other changes needing to be made. And he has McGarity to help him if he needs it.
Is it good news that Tereshinski prompts Dogs’ player to quit? | Jeff Schultz
July 13th, 2011
11:14 am
[...] you missed Benedict’s Q-and-A with our Chip Towers, he acknowledged that “ personal issues” led to his decision, adding that, “It [...]
THE Dixie Redcoat Band
July 13th, 2011
11:19 am
We’re not worried about these kids and their NFL future, we’re worried about winning the SEC!
flo-ri-duh
July 13th, 2011
11:19 am
UGA needs a professional strength coach and a veteran OL coach with proven success – not a strength coach that was doing something else last year (Tereshinske and a OL coach in training. That said; Benedict showed very little appreciation for what Richt did for him and NO loyalty to the program. A loser all the way around.
RabidDawgFan
July 13th, 2011
11:21 am
Our offensive line is not as thin as most people think. The smallest lineman we have is 316 and that’s our center Ben Jones. So we’re not “thin”. I know you mean depth but as long as our 5 guys stay healthy then we won’t have a problem. Will we? We have two All-SEC performers on our line with Glenn and Jones. They can lead the rest of the guys and help them dominate. I can’t wait to see how they perform. People see them on paper and think they’ll be no good. Well I remember in 08 we were supposed to have one of the best lines in the country, and how did that turn out? Well maybe it’ll reverse this time as well.
ga gator
July 13th, 2011
11:22 am
I wish the young man well; however this explains why he left UGA and did not sign with UF. UF’s strenght coach Mickey Marotti is one of the most demanding in the US. He was the first coach that Muschamp decided on keeping when he was hired; in fact he mentioned Marotti at his opening press conference. Good for Tereshinski for sticking to his guns. Too many athletes are pampered and as much as I do not like Saban, the man puts up with 0 bs.