What a long strange trip it's Benn

Look back at how the Illini landed five star wide receiver Arrelious Benn

"Arrelious Benn, a blue-chip high school wide receiver from Dunbar High School in Washington, surprised many people last night at the ESPN Zone by committing to Illinois. Benn, Rivals.com No. 2 wide receiver prospect, chose Illinois over the Terps, Florida State and Notre Dame"(Courtesy The Diamondback)

"I've never seen anything like it in 28 years." - The original MILF hunter errrr prep football recruiting analyst Tom Lemming commenting on the Fighting Illini 2007 recruiting class.

"Where there's smoke, there's probably fire." - former Michigan State head coach John L. Smith on the likelihood of Illinois recruiting violations in 2007.

November 9 2006....Illinois received 2 'blue chip' wide receiver commitments that day. Benn and 4 star pass catcher Anthony Morris from in state Harvey Thornton High School committed to the Illini earlier in the day. Was sitting in the Illini football offices after practice that Thursday night when a big cheer went up thru the place as all the coaches were watching the Benn commitment on ESPN. Staff was confident Benn to Illinois but until it went public....held their breath. Quite a day and quite a story on how the five star Benn eventually picked the Illini.

"Ya can't tell the players in 2006 without a scorecard!"

Arrelious 'Rejus' Benn-Five star wide receiver recruit from Washington DC Dunbar HS

Charlie Weis-head football coach University of Notre Dame

Ron Zook-head football coach University of Illinois

Mike Locksley-Illini offensive coordinator, DC area recruiter for Illinois

Peter Vaas-Quarterbacks coach University of Notre Dame Irish DC recruiter for Notre Dame

Craig Jeffries-D.C. Dunbar High School head football coach, Benn/Nathan Bussey/Vontae Davis' HS coach

Denise Benn-Mother of Arrelious Benn/Trulon Henry

Trulon Henry-half brother of Arrelious Benn. During the Benn recruitment Henry was in prison serving time for armed robbery.

Rob Ianello-University of Notre Dame assistant coach/Fighting Irish football recruiting coordinator

Tom Lemming-Notre Dame shill/professional turd burglar/300-pound bench!

Jimmy Clausen-Five star quarterback class of 2007 committed to Notre Dame

Background-First time I head the name 'Arrelious Benn' was Illini one day camp summer 2005. Then DC Dunbar senior cornerback Vontae Davis came to Illinois to camp with his high school coach Craig Jeffries. Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley had strong recruiting ties/success in the DMV/DC area. Locksley from D.C. had attended Towson University, made his name landing big time recruits out of that DMV area when at the University of Maryland/University of Florida for Zook. Locksley recruited Vontae's older brother Vernon out of Dunbar to the University of Maryland/great friends with Jeffries. Talking to Jeffries, he said, 'well if you think Vontae is good, wait till you see Rejus (Benn's nickname) Jeffries also indicated Vontae and Rejus were best friends and wouldn't surprise him if they went to the same school. Great I thought....talk is cheap but Vontae Davis was...well we hadn't seen a talent like that at an Illini one day camp in forever. Davis eventually signed with Illinois class of 2006. Benn and teammate Nathan Bussey would follow Davis and sign with Illinois class of 2007.

Summer of 06-got the first in person look at Benn when he visited Illinois for camp with Jeffries, other DC recruits for a one day. Benn looked the part, built like a college running back that would play wide receiver. Nice enough kid, TV/newspaper/Me were there to 'interview' him. Zook's staff on days when priority recruits came to visit in the the summer liked to show that Illinois football was big time…..or at least give the appearance it was. The staff gave you plenty of access to the recruits during those one days camps. Always wanted 'media' there to show that someone cared. That day Benn seemed a little withdrawn, un comfortable with the attention. OK that's fine, young guy like that isn't used to having so many asking him questions about his recruitment, 'when will you make a decision?' 'how do you like Illinois?' Got it but for all the enthusiasm the Illini staff had for getting Benn...his behavior that day seemed....odd Well there was a reason.

Recruiting buddies-Benn had developed a friendship thru the recruiting process/shoe camps with then Notre Dame five star QB commitment Jimmy Clausen. Clausen was in contract with Benn daily, always pushing Notre Dame, 'Charlie Weis' offense will get us ready for the NFL together' the pitch to Benn. Benn had a 'mentor' who was a Notre Dame grad, DC area lawyer. Benn's HS coach Jeffries would bring Benn to Illinois to visit. Benn's mentor would take him to South Bend to visit. Before his trip to Illinois that June, Benn and his mentor had visited South Bend. Of course Clausen in South Bend for the Benn visit. While on the visit. Benn, his mentor, then Irish QB coach/Benn recruiter Peter Vaas and the big man Charlie Weis got Benn in the head coaches office trying to convince Benn to commit to the Irish right now (never got confirmation Clausen was in Weis’ office when Notre Dame was pushing for a Benn commitment)...Benn's HS coach Jeffries, mother Denise Benn had laid out the rules for his recruitment. Benn was going to take 4-5 visits during the fall and make a decision after the trips, HS season over. HS coach and mother made it a point to tell all the assistants, head coaches in contact don't push for an early commitment cause that is not how we are going to handle Rejus' recruitment.

Hot Box-Well Charlie Weis decided that 'idea' of not pushing for a Benn early commitment...didn't apply to him. He's Charlie 'let me show you my Super Bowl rings' Weis. While on that visit to South Bend, during the meeting in head coaches office, Weis, Benn's mentor, Vaas all pushed hard, very hard for Benn to 'commit' to Notre Dame on the spot...told him you don't have to go public with pledge till after your visits. 'Hot boxed' the young man till finally Benn broke and agreed he would 'commit' to Notre Dame 'silently'...yes, the dreaded silent verbal commitment. Weis gave Benn 'his word' that only the people in the room/Clausen would know that Benn had committed to the Fighting Irish. So when visiting Illinois after…well had to feel odd acting like his recruitment was ‘wide open’. Receiving all that attention from the Illini staff, ‘media’ about his decision when he had committed to Weis/Notre Dame earlier that summer.

What?-Camp season ends mid June. Illinois coaches go on vacation for a few weeks. Early July Illini assistant coach calls up, 'hey what is going on?' Me, 'Well this Benn talk kind of crazy, Notre Dame media, message boards say Benn committed to Notre Dame this summer'....other end, 'What? What the fuck?'....Me ‘Yep Notre Dame’….pause....Illini assistant, 'Does Lox know this? Me....'no idea but I am not going to tell him'…Illini assistant, 'let me get back to you'....At the time Locksley was on vacation in Mexico with his family. It took a day or so to get him on the phone, tell him the 'rumor' of Benn's verbal. Illinois staff was under the impression make that strong impression Illinois/Locksley getting Benn. Rejus committing to anyone early was 'not going to happen' understood the reaction ‘WTF?’ from Illini staffer when told that might have happened. Locksley gets in touch with Benn's HS coach Jeffries who gets Benn and his mom together, asks if the young man had committed to Notre Dame on his trip to South Bend? Benn denied it. Said he didn't know where those rumors came from. HS coach, Locksley and Benn's mom took him at his word but all 3 were suspicious of the rumors none the less.

Loose lips- Then Notre Dame recruiting coordinator/assistant coach Ron Ianello supposedly 'leaked' the Benn silent verbal to his buddy Fighting Irish shill Tom Lemming/other Notre Dame media types that indeed Benn was on board with the Irish. That 'leak' spread quickly. Why leak? Weis/staff felt that if they leaked the commitment that would force Benn to admit publicly he had committed to Notre Dame. Tactical error/arrogance on Weis' part(imagine that). Yes I was drinking the Orange recruiting kool-aid at that time…..was very positive 'Benn to Illinois' which Illini fans would go on national recruiting boards and brag about till...Notre Dame fans were fed Benn committed, would counter it with, ‘not true already committed to us’…. in the end that internet ‘rumor’ fleshed out the truth.

Lies, Lies, Lies, they are going to get you-Late summer Benn read/heard that same rumors that he had committed to Notre Dame during the summer. Young man was not happy about that information being out there, had 2nd thoughts. Benn with his mother, told high school coach circumstances he had committed to Notre Dame when he was in South Bend. Neither his mother or HS coach were surprised…..disappointed yes but not surprised. Some 'genius' thought of the idea to have HS coach Jeffries call Weis and have have Vaas on the line when the HS coach would ask if Weis, his staff had asked for, pressured Benn into commitment? Jeffries set up the phone call. When the time came for the call, Jeffries had call on speaker phone with Benn, his mother in the room listening. Supposedly Weis/Vaas no idea Benn, his mom were in the room listening. Weis/Vaas on the line, after pleasantries Jeffries asks, 'Coach Weis we keep hearing rumors, did Rejus commit to you when he visited?' Weis right away, 'Oh no coach, we know Rejus wants to take his visits and make his decision after that, that's just internet stuff, we didn't push for anything, he didn't commit'...Vaas echoed Weis' comments, ‘oh no no commitment’. As Weis/Vaas denying it all, BS’ing their way thru the conversation, Benn is mouthing silently to his mom, coach, 'they are lying, lies' shaking his head. 'lies, lies, lies' Jeffries keeps Weis on the line, 'hey thanks for clearing that up coach, we really appreciate both of you being honest' Weis reportedly ends the call with, 'hey coach thanks for calling we heard the same stuff around here and were concerned, glad we cleared that up'....oh boy.

Glad we cleared that up-In the end, that's why Benn eliminated Norte Dame because young man, his mother knew they couldn't trust anything Charlie Weis said. Recruiting all about relationships. Weis had screwed up that one with 1. pushing hard for a commitment when he knew that wasn't what the family wanted. 2. Lying about what happened on Benn's summer visit to South Bend. Benn visited Illinois for the Iowa game 2006 along with Bussey, five star Washington (DC) Ballou defensive tackle Marvin Austin, few other DC area recruits. True to his word, Benn also visited Notre Dame, Maryland and Florida State before his November announcement.

Smear begins-Benn commits and about a month later five star Chicago Simeon linebacker Martez Wilson verbals to Illinois. Course the crap started to be thrown at Illinois football recruiting. ‘Package deal’ was thrown around, yep Illini took 3 package deals that class. Benn and Bussey. Bussey turned out to be a legit player, drafted by the Saints, a few years in the NFL/CFL. Illinois took safety/Wilson buddy Darius Purcell. Purcell didn’t work out. Took running back Troy Pollard with four star dline recruit D'Angelo McCray out of Jacksonville, Florida. ‘Big D’ didn’t work out, left after a year in Champaign. Pollard had his moments running the ball for the Illini. Package deals in recruiting a long time Illini tradition.. After the Benn commitment, reportedly certain Notre Dame media types and shills made sure to leak it that Benn's half brother Trulon Henry was in jail for armed robbery. That’s when it got…weird….crap like…. ''Zook and Locksley made the deal to get him(Henry) out early, a ride to Illinois to play football there in 2007'....When the Henry stuff came out, neither Zook/Locksley denied talking about Henry with Benn, his mom. But those conversations were more about 'helping' Henry find a spot to play football when he was released from jail vs getting him out of jail early to play at Illinois in 2007 as was implied. Notre Dame homer Regis Philbin on his show making comments about ‘how did Illinois get all those good football players in recruiting this year? Just doesn’t make sense’ something to that effect. Another rumor, Illini boosters working at the Chicago Board of Trade were financing Illini football recruiting, payoffs. DIA/Illini compliance checked all that crap out, nothing ever came of any of it. Just more internet silly from the Notre Dame side who were upset/embarrassed they had lost 2 priority recruits to Illinois football. New York Times sent a reporter to Champaign to 'check out' the rumors of the cheating Illini football recruiting. Biggest takeaway that reporter found? Illini recruits got free drinks at Joe's Brewery on Green Street....little did the reporter know that was another Illini tradition, athletes, recruits always drank for free at Joe's Brewery. The good players/recruits for free, the slap dick players? Not so much. 2 prominent sportswriters at the legendary Chicago Tribune (one a Fighting Irish lover, other Northwestern stooge) happily spread rumors of Illini cheating in football recruiting. Both of course proven wrong....again.

Friends and family recruiting-That's what Zook/Locksley always said played a big part of their recruiting success. Knowing the friends and families of recruits gave them an 'in', helped close the deal. That relationship /trust got them Benn, Wilson, every ‘big time’ recruit Illinois landed during those years, staff had some friends/family type of relationship with the player. If your not a power school that gets recruits cause of rep, ‘friends and family’ approach still applies to recruiting today. Those days would go to a college camps of various Valley/MAC in state schools to look at high school prospects…. assistants would find out I 'covered' Illinois football... a few would ask, 'how much is Illinois cheating?' laugh. (including 2 that later went to work for Illinois football during the 10's) Was Zook/Locksley/Mitchell and company giving away bags of money to recruits? Nope....do I think if say a parent of a player got cheap airline tickets to come see her son play? maybe(wink wink). Do I think if a player needed a hookup for various expenses when on campus some generous sort with a connection to the football staff helped that player out? Yeah probably. But major NCAA violations 'smoking gun' proof or payoffs under the table to land the Illinois 2007 class? Nope never saw anything like that going on and had a daily front row seat to the Zook show.

Cleaning it all up-Anthony Morris didn’t qualify to get into Illinois. Morris spent fall of 2007 attending Parkland Community College in Champaign trying to get the required courses to be admitted to Illinois. That didn't happen Morris went back and played a year of football at Joliet (Ill.) Junior College. He eventually signed with New Mexico when Locksley became the Lobo's head coach in 2009. Morris never qualified at New Mexico. Trulon Henry got out of jail 2007. Henry played football at College of DuPage(Ill.) for 2 years before picking Illinois over offers fm Cincinnati, Kansas State, C-USA type of schools Henry lettered(UIUC graduate) at safety for the Illini 2010-2011. When Notre Dame 'lost' Benn to Illinois, they turned their attention to Tennessee wide receiver Golden Tate who eventually did sign with the Fighting Irish. Peter Vaas was let go by Weis after the 2006 season. Locksley hired Jeffries as an assistant coach at New Mexico. 3 head coaches Illini staff at that time didn't like? Weis, nicknamed 'Front Butt' by certain Illini staff members, one in particular had a photo of Weis taped to the wall to throw crap at.....Tim Brewster and his shenanigans, negative recruiting against Illinois when at Minnesota,....Ferentz/anything Iowa football. Zook always had a hard on for all things Iowa after the Nate Keading comment when Zook was head coach at Florida. Illini assistants knew to get Zook to sign off on offering a recruit, just tell him 'Iowa offered' and Zook would snap to attention....always wanted to 'beat' Iowa on recruits.

Benn at Illinois-UIUC graduate. 3 year starter at wide receiver/ 2007 Big Ten freshman of the year. 159 catches, averaged 14 yards per catch, 10 touchdowns Illini career. 2nd round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2010 draft. Benn at Illinois always nicked up it seemed. QB? never had what I would call a 'good' quarterback throwing him the ball in Champaign. NFL? again injury bug always seemed to slow Benn's career. Did score a touchdown vs. the Bears when playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And no I have no idea why his nickname was Rejus.

Covering Illinois football/football recruiting 2005 to 2009 like free pizza and beer at the circus, Always something entertaining or maddening or just plain crazy going on during that time in Champaign.