Canadian S Ty Benefield, Boise State aim to 'shock the world' in playoffs

When Vancouver native Ty Benefield plays in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal on New Year's Eve, the Boise State Broncos' sophomore safety will be taking another step toward completing his ultimate sporting mission.

Ty's dad, Daved, played 13 seasons in the CFL as an import linebacker/defensive end from 1992-2005, being named a division all-star three times while playing for four teams. In the middle of that run was one NFL season in which he played through constant knee pain to suit up for the San Francisco 49ers in 1996.

"He's the role model for me," Ty Benefield, 19, said over the phone from the Idaho campus this week. "I do everything on the football field for him. His whole story, he wanted to be in The League for longer but it ended short because of injuries. That's my pushing point. Every time I feel like I'm going to quit, I just think about him and his career and how he deserved to be in The League longer. That's why I'm going to do that for him."

Based on his play over two impressive years at a rapidly rising program, it would be unwise to doubt him.

After starting in five games and playing all 13 as a true freshman last year, Benefield was named an honourable mention Mountain West all-star this season, helping his team capture the conference crown and earn the No. 3 seed and a bye to the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., as one of the top four conference champions in the U.S.

Not bad for a kid who didn't even play defence until his senior year of high school in California. He started as a quarterback in Vancouver — the family's adopted home after David's two stints with the B.C. Lions — before trying his hand at receiver when he moved to California while living with his aunt and uncle.

"He has just been so dedicated," said Daved Benefield, who splits up the trips with his wife A.J. to watch Ty and their daughter Addy, a volleyball player at the University of Washington.

"He never wanted to not play. (When he first got to university), he was like 'Dad, there's like 20 people in the room.' This was the safety room. I was just like 'Dude you're a freshman, you're not a five-star (recruit), you're going to have to deal with a lot of stuff. You may not get to play.' Next thing you know, we're watching him play against Washington (in his rookie year), not just on (special) teams and he's 17 years old."

This year, Ty Benefield made 73 total tackles (up from 46 last year) and notched two interceptions for the 11-1 Broncos, who are known for playing on the famous blue turf at Albertsons Stadium.

Despite not playing in one of the four power conferences, Boise State was ranked ahead of Big 12 champion Arizona State and Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson. The Broncos, whose lone loss this year was a 37-34 setback on the road against top-ranked Oregon, await the winner of the Dec. 21 game between No. 7 Penn State and No. 10 SMU.

Along with enjoying great team success, Benefield has had a front-row seat to watch one of the best individual performances in the country. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty has been a dominant force all season. He has rushed for 2,497 yards, more than 800 ahead of the second-ranked running back, and 29 touchdowns and is expected to battle Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter for the Heisman Trophy, which will be handed out Saturday night.

Barry Sanders' single-season record of 2,628 yards (in 1988 with Oklahoma State) is very much in jeopardy.

"I'm so blessed to be able to have him as like a big brother," Benefield said. "Even if he's on the other side of the ball, I pick up so much when I'm talking to him or when I hear him talk. He cares about his whole team, he cares about absolutely everybody, coaches included. He's just an unbelievable person. I can't explain it, if you met him you would just pick that up right from the get-go — as soon as he smiles, when he shakes your hand and talks to you. He's just such a good person."

What's it like practising against Jeanty?

"I remember the first time I got to meet him in a hole, I was just like 'Holy, this dude is different,'" Benefield recalled with a chuckle. "I didn't get run over or anything, but you don't know what you're going to get from him. He's either going to shake you out of your cleats or run through your face. One on one, it's him."

Knowing Jeanty and the rest of the roster, and with the CFP field expanded to 12 from four teams this season, Benefield thought a playoff spot was a very realistic goal for the Broncos.

Still, there has been plenty of debate about whether the Broncos deserve to have a higher ranking than champions from power conferences.

If Boise State has to play a perennial national power like Penn State in a quarterfinal on a neutral field, it's entirely possible the Broncos may be considered an underdog.

That won't bother Benefield.

"There's no way we can't go out there and compete with these teams," he said. "This is what we've dreamed of, this is what we've been talking about really since last year when they first were kind of teasing us with that whole idea (of making the playoff as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions). People outside of this team definitely think we're an underdog and we love it. We absolutely love when people think that. It's going to fuel us, for sure.

"We're just going to out there and work our hardest, play our hardest and shock the world."

A glance at history proves this is indeed possible.

Back on New Year's Day in 2007, Boise State was matched up against the Adrian Peterson-led Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl. Despite entering with an unbeaten record, Boise State was a 7.5-point underdog. In the end, it was the Broncos prevailing 43-42 in overtime.

Nearly 18 years later, the current Broncos would be thrilled to produce a similar story.

"It's been great. It really has," Daved Benefield said. "Watching him go from never playing safety other than flag football in Vancouver to being the kid coming up where people are saying he strikes people and is able to cover some of the kids he covers never being a corner, he has worked really hard at it."