Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Welcome to the Carriker Chronicles,
00:10 the people show, checking the pulse of Husker Nation.
00:13 Ladies and gentlemen, just remember,
00:15 mindset is everything.
00:16 All right, ladies and gentlemen,
00:17 I got an awesome guest on today.
00:20 I'm excited.
00:21 Now, before I bring him on, all right,
00:23 he helped Omaha Westside to one of their most dominant
00:26 season in Nebraska high school history.
00:29 And he's just the sixth player in state history
00:31 to earn all Nebraska honors for three straight years.
00:35 Now, the Warriors went 13 and 0
00:36 and outscored their opponents 643 to 46.
00:39 All right, defensively, he had 43 tackles,
00:41 six interceptions, 19 PBU,
00:43 seven tackles for losses senior year.
00:45 And offensively, he got 45 passes for 602 yards,
00:49 seven TDs and had over 500 return yards on special teams.
00:54 He was also the captain of the all Nebraska team
00:57 and Super State squad.
00:59 Mr. Caleb Benning, how you doing, my friend?
01:01 - Good, how are you doing?
01:04 - Dude, I'm doing good.
01:05 I'm trying not to freeze to death,
01:06 but other than that, life is good.
01:09 And one more thing.
01:10 - I'm right there with you.
01:11 - Yeah, man, and one more thing for the fine folks at home.
01:13 If you're excited to see what Caleb Benning
01:15 and this entire class can do during their time here
01:18 at the University of Nebraska with the football program,
01:20 hit that like button, smash the like button.
01:23 All right, Caleb, here's my first question.
01:25 You're listed as a defensive back, okay?
01:28 What excites you the most about playing
01:29 in Tony White's 3-3-5 defense?
01:33 - Just the freedom to make plays.
01:35 I know Coach White and the rest of the defensive staff
01:38 would do a great job of putting me in position
01:41 to make plays, but that's really what the DBs do.
01:44 You saw this year, a lot of man coverage,
01:46 a lot of free-flowing plays,
01:48 and just making plays on the ball
01:50 in the passing game and in the run game.
01:53 - Which coach had the biggest impact
01:56 during your recruitment time?
01:58 - That's tough.
02:00 Probably the 1A, 1B, Coach Ruehl, Coach Cooper.
02:05 I may give it to Coach Ruehl, the slight nod,
02:09 just because he's obviously the head coach
02:11 and kind of runs everything, but definitely those two.
02:15 - What sticks out the most to you
02:17 about head coach Matt Ruehl?
02:19 - Just, he's very personable.
02:23 The first time I met him, I could tell he was a guy
02:27 I was gonna like.
02:28 He doesn't fake.
02:29 There's no BS.
02:30 He's a great guy, a man of his word,
02:33 and he has his best intentions for you.
02:37 - Does it mean a little bit more for you
02:40 to be staying home and playing for the Big Red
02:43 during your time in college?
02:44 - Oh, for sure.
02:45 Just following in my dad's footsteps,
02:48 trying to create my own legacy,
02:50 representing my friends and family,
02:53 I take great pride in that.
02:55 - Now, I'm pretty sure everyone knows,
02:56 but for those who may not,
02:58 Caleb's dad is Damon Benning, a former Orange Bowl MVP,
03:01 one of the best in the biz when it comes to talking
03:04 Husker football, Husker athletics.
03:06 What role, if any, did your dad play
03:09 in the recruitment/decision-making period for you?
03:14 - He was really there to just guide me along.
03:16 Obviously, he's been through it.
03:18 It's obviously a little different now,
03:20 not to call him old or anything,
03:22 but it's a little different.
03:23 But he knows college football.
03:26 He knows kind of the business, the dirty work,
03:29 what people really mean and what they say.
03:31 So just going on visits, taking it all in,
03:36 and then I would share his thoughts, he would share mine,
03:39 and we ultimately decided Nebraska was the best fit.
03:43 - Well, hey, don't feel bad about calling your dad old.
03:45 My kids do it all the time.
03:47 It's just something with a dad you learn to deal with,
03:49 so it's all good.
03:51 Now, I watched part of his interview on DocTalk.
03:54 All right, if you guys missed that,
03:55 go check out Rob Zaduska, Travis Jester,
03:58 they interviewed Damon Benning,
03:59 and he said that he did not try to push you
04:02 towards Nebraska at all.
04:03 So I'm curious, is that true,
04:05 or was there a little bit of nudge?
04:06 How'd that actually go, Caleb?
04:07 - No, that was 100% true.
04:09 Just with the old staff, not to take a shot at them,
04:13 but it wasn't really something I was super interested in.
04:17 Seeing guys like Xavier Watts go elsewhere
04:20 and have plenty of success,
04:23 I didn't really feel like Nebraska
04:25 was a place I had to go.
04:27 I thought taking business to other schools was really cool.
04:31 So just starting off there,
04:35 this new coaching staff was kind of behind the ball,
04:38 I would say, so they did a great job of catching up,
04:41 and my dad did a great job
04:42 of letting me make my own decision.
04:44 - Now, when it comes to kind of creating your own legacy,
04:48 like you mentioned earlier,
04:50 what is that like for you?
04:51 Is that something that you embrace and you think is fun?
04:54 Is that something that's a little bit challenging?
04:56 And I'll be honest with you,
04:57 I got an eighth grade son of my own,
04:59 and I try to figure out how best to help him,
05:03 and so I'm kind of trying to learn from this situation
05:06 so I can maybe help my own son,
05:07 or maybe just get the hell out of the way
05:09 and let him do his thing,
05:09 but I mean, how's that process,
05:11 like how's that been for you so far and going forward?
05:14 - He makes nothing of it.
05:17 Like you said, he gets out the way and he lets me be me.
05:21 I think it's important to develop in sports
05:24 and as a person, my own identity
05:26 and what I wanna be known for.
05:28 And just, it comes from other people, obviously,
05:32 being, I used to be called Lil Benning,
05:35 but that kind of went away.
05:37 I made sure that my name is Kale, not Lil Benning.
05:40 You know, him staying out the way,
05:43 him being there when I need him though,
05:46 he's done a great job of that,
05:47 and really just letting me make my own decisions.
05:51 - All right, now Nebraska currently,
05:52 and they may not add anybody else, okay,
05:55 but Nebraska currently has 29 signees to this class,
05:58 eight from Nebraska.
05:59 How many of the kids from Nebraska, current signees,
06:03 do you already know and you're kind of familiar with?
06:05 - Oh, a lot of them.
06:06 Obviously, I played against a bunch of them
06:09 my whole high school career,
06:10 but we have a group chat, we talk constantly,
06:13 every day, we're all coming into the same situation,
06:17 new team, new surroundings, all freshmen.
06:20 So, really building that bond as Coach Ruehl's
06:24 really first full class that he got to recruit
06:28 throughout the off season and in season.
06:30 We think this group can be pretty special,
06:32 so just growing together.
06:33 - Out of the guys that are coming in in this year's class,
06:36 who has the most outgoing personality?
06:40 - Ooh, I'd probably say Davon Hall.
06:44 He creates a little bit of laughter in the group chat,
06:49 doesn't make it awkward at all,
06:51 gets everybody comfortable,
06:52 and everybody kind of feeds off him.
06:54 - All right, ladies and gentlemen, real quick,
06:56 as you know, this show is sponsored
06:57 by DPS Concrete Construction.
06:59 They're a phenomenal partner.
07:00 I'm proud to be partnered with them.
07:03 All right, if you are a diesel mechanic,
07:05 a CDL driver, a concrete finisher,
07:07 looking for work in the Omaha Metro area,
07:10 DPS Construction is the employer for you.
07:13 If you're looking for a great boss, that's Jason Armstrong.
07:15 If you're looking for someone to do great work,
07:17 that's Jason Armstrong's crew, DPS Construction.
07:20 Check them out at dpsconstruction.net.
07:24 Now, as everyone knows, Nebraska's,
07:27 and the team has already moved into the locker room.
07:30 They're already able to use some of the training room
07:33 facilities and things of that nature.
07:35 The weight room is still in construction right now.
07:39 But the new facilities,
07:40 how attractive do you think that is
07:42 to potential football players and the recruits
07:44 that Nebraska is gonna try to come
07:46 bring to Lincoln in the future?
07:48 - Oh, very.
07:49 Just to myself, you know, a lot of great, useful objects.
07:53 You got like different whirlpools, hot tubs,
07:57 stuff like I've never even seen before.
07:59 I didn't even know really existed.
08:02 But just to stay up to par with some of the big programs,
08:06 I think we have the best facilities in the nation.
08:09 - All right, man.
08:10 Strength and conditioning plays a big role
08:12 in player development.
08:14 Rule and his staff are huge on developing players.
08:18 How much value do you put on the weight room
08:20 as you head to Lincoln?
08:22 - Oh, a ton.
08:23 Playing for Coach Lomaggi at Omaha Westside,
08:26 that's where we lived.
08:27 That's where our pregame meetings were
08:29 because that's where we stayed the most
08:31 and spent the most time together.
08:33 And just looking forward to continuing that at Nebraska,
08:37 growing as a football player,
08:39 getting stronger, faster, more athletic, the whole nine.
08:42 So definitely looking forward to that.
08:45 - Will you be arriving on campus in January or this summer?
08:49 - This summer.
08:50 I'm playing basketball this year.
08:51 - Okay, very cool.
08:52 How's basketball season going?
08:54 - Good.
08:54 We just beat Illinois team by 20 today,
08:57 so it was a pretty good one.
08:59 - Do you dunk in games?
09:00 - No, not in games, in warmups.
09:03 (laughing)
09:05 - So I was the only kid on my high school team.
09:07 We weren't very good.
09:08 My only kid on my high school team that could dunk,
09:09 and we were playing the number one team in the state,
09:11 so my coach was like, "Adam, you gotta,"
09:13 and I couldn't do fancy dunks or anything.
09:15 He's like, "Well, you gotta go out there
09:16 "and just make the rim rattle
09:18 "and try to send a message to these guys."
09:20 I ended up getting a technical before the game ever started,
09:22 but my coach loved it.
09:23 He thought it was great.
09:25 It didn't work.
09:26 We lost by 20, but at least we started off with a bang.
09:29 All right, man.
09:30 Last question I got for you.
09:32 So this is a top 20 recruiting class
09:35 that's coming in with you right now.
09:37 Okay, you got two Elite 11 quarterbacks.
09:39 Personally, and I talked about this
09:40 when I broke down the class,
09:42 I think there's some diamonds in the rough.
09:44 Think of like a Jalen Lloyd from a year ago
09:46 who was kinda overlooked,
09:47 but has shown that he's clearly got a bright future.
09:50 What's this 2024 class, your class,
09:53 what do you think this class is capable of
09:55 over the next three to four to five years?
09:58 - First of all, I think we're definitely capable
10:00 of putting Nebraska back on the map.
10:03 You know, being a Nebraska fan,
10:04 it's been a down couple of years,
10:06 gone through a couple of different head coaches,
10:09 different teams, and struggling to make a bowl game.
10:12 So definitely get the bowl game out of the way,
10:15 but looking down towards my junior, senior year,
10:18 I think we can compete with anybody,
10:20 especially with the playoff expanding to 12 teams.
10:24 I think that's definitely the end goal,
10:25 but with this class and this team,
10:27 just working every day, taking it day by day.
10:30 - All right, man, I appreciate your time.
10:32 I got some questions for the fine folks at home.
10:34 As always, hit me up in the comments below.
10:36 Let me know your answers to this.
10:37 Number one, do you agree with Caleb?
10:39 What do you think this 2024 class is capable of?
10:42 Number two, do you get extra excited
10:44 about in-state legacy players kinda like Caleb?
10:48 Does it just mean a little bit more to them?
10:49 And number three, if you wanna just show Caleb some love
10:52 in the comments below, just simply say GBR Caleb
10:55 and show him some love.
10:56 Also, you can always check out CarrikerChronicles.com.
10:59 That's CarrikerChronicles.com.
11:01 It's where all your football hopes
11:02 and dreams will come true.
11:04 It's just science, ladies and gentlemen.
11:05 All right, until next time,
11:06 Husker Nation, go Big Red, and always remember...
11:10 - Throw the bones.