Keeanu Kyrie Benton (born July 17, 2001) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Early years

Benton grew up in

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jan ...

and attended

Joseph A. Craig High School Joseph A. Craig High School is a public high school located in the city of Janesville, Wisconsin. Craig, a part of the School District of Janesville, has a student enrollment of approximately 1,800. Located on the east side of Janesville, it is n ...

. As a senior, he made 75 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, and one fumble recovery. Benton committed to play college football at Wisconsin over an offer from Iowa.

College career

Benton played in 13 games and made six starts at nose tackle as a freshman and finished the season with 12 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks. He played in seven games and made seven starts at nose tackle during his sophomore season. He was named second team All-Big Ten Conference as a junior after making 25 tackles with five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Statistics

Professional career

Benton was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round, 49th overall, of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

References

External links

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Pittsburgh Steelers bioWisconsin Badgers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benton, Keeanu Living people American football defensive tackles Players of American football from Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers football players Sportspeople from Janesville, Wisconsin 2001 births Pittsburgh Steelers players Joseph A. Craig High School alumni