Oklahoma State University Athletics
Loyal and True: Corey Bennett
March 14, 2014 | Cowboy Football
March 14, 2014
STILLWATER, Okla. – “Loyal and True” is a feature that details the stories of walk-on players and other key contributors to the Oklahoma State football program who embody what it means to be a Cowboy. This edition features an interview with Choctaw, Okla., native Corey Bennett. His comments:
Running back Corey Bennett
On how he made the decision to walk-on at OSU
"I wanted to go to school here, and I always played football, so I thought I might as well try it at least. That's pretty much all that went into it."
On how long he's been playing football
"Forever. Since I was little I've always played football. Probably since I was seven I've always played football."
On if he's always been running back and what he likes about it
"Yeah, for the most part. I don't know, there's just something about running the ball. To me, it's better than playing defense. They don't expect you to give them the hit. To kind of switch it up a bit is what I like about it."
On the walk-on process
"The beginning was a lot of paperwork. I had to fill out a lot of stuff, get a bunch of physicals. All that was after we had the tryouts, where they took our height and weight and our vertical. We benched and timed our 40, and that was pretty much it. We just had to wait for an email after that."
On getting notified he had earned a walk-on spot
"It was pretty exciting, because I didn't know if they had picked me or not. There were a lot of guys out there that time when I tried out."
On how his family felt about him getting a spot on the team
"They were excited. They were probably more excited than I was. My mom, as soon as I told her she probably called everybody in her phone and told them."
On the daily life of a walk-on
"We pretty much go through the same things as everybody else. If we're in season, a lot of times the walk-ons will help with scout team or whatever. During spring ball, we'll get some reps. It depends on the position, you might go with ones or twos or threes."
On earning respect
"You have to earn your respect when you get here. If you don't, they're like, 'He's just a walk-on.' When you actually get out there and prove you can play, and you're not just a scout team crash test dummy, you'll get more respect from your fellow teammates and even the coaches."
On his goals
"I'm trying to get a spot. I'm trying to move up there on the depth chart and get some playing time. That's my goal."
