Quarterback coach Ben Bennett and his three pupils like to play a game after practice.
Two garbage cans are placed 30 yards apart and two teams alternate throwing at them. Two points are awarded for every basket and one point is earned every time a quarterback strikes the can. Last Sunday, Spencer Romine and Bobby Campbell defeated Bennett and Kevin Thompson 11-5. Bennett boasted that the loss ruined his perfect 9-0 record during the preseason.
"That's a lie," exclaimed Campbell upon hearing what his coach was saying. "We've beaten him before. For him to be 9-0 is a laugh. But that's Ben though."
But to call Ben cocky is to sell the man short. He admits to being so much more, saying that he's "cocky, brash, boisterous, idiotic, an a--hole, loud and obnoxious." Ben has apparently been like this for awhile.
"When he was first hired, people kept coming up to me and saying they have this great Ben Bennett story," Romine said with a grin. "I've heard my share of Ben Bennett stories."
But all the stories in the world couldn't ready the quarterbacks for who they were about to encounter.
"You can't really be prepared for Coach Bennett until you meet him," Campbell said. "He's great, he's hilarious and he keeps practice light. When we need to concentrate and really focus, he does a great job of making sure we're on top of what we need to know."
Bennett played quarterback for the Blue Devils from 1980 to '83 and, in the last game of his senior season, he became the NCAA's all-time leading passer. Although the record was broken the very next year by Boston College's Doug Flutie, Bennett isn't afraid to remind people of his credentials.
"I think most of the players know [who I am]," Bennett said. "But I don't mind kicking them in the butt and telling them if they don't
While at Duke, Bennett was teammates with new head coach Carl Franks. The two became friends and when Bennett heard that his former teammate was to be hired as the new coach last December, he surprised him by arriving at the press conference announcing Franks' hiring.
At the time, working for Franks was not something Bennett had considered. He was close to signing a contract to become a head coach in the Arena Football League, where for 10 years he was one of the league's top players.
But Franks had other ideas. The night of the press conference, the two met at nearby Bullock's Barbecue to discuss Bennett's future with the team. Bennett wasn't sure at first, but after mulling it over for a week, he decided to come back to Durham.
"Too many things all lined up too well for it not to be a good opportunity," he said.
But now Bennett has a very difficult job in front of him. He must somehow take one of Duke's three quarterbacks, each of whom have very limited on-field success, and turn him into the cornerstone of a high-powered offensive attack.
According to Campbell and Romine, Bennett's personal confidence has rubbed off on them-an encouraging sign for two players who have had their share of down moments in a Duke uniform.
"It's a relief just to get a guy who's been so successful," Romine said. "I haven't had that in a quarterbacks coach in awhile. Just having someone that you know everything they say they've probably done themselves."
Bennett has done most everything he'll ask of his quarterbacks. While playing at Duke, he was the quarterback as Blue Devil offensive coordinator Steve Spurrier designed the offense that made him famous. And although 16 years have passed since Bennett's last game, he says not much has changed in the offense.
"I was born in this passing attack essentially," Bennett said. "The playbook that we're using now is the playbook that was put in front of me in 1980.... The offense and the principles are the same as they were when I first got here. There's a few extra bells and whistles, but the fundamentals of this offense are the same as they have been for 20 years."
And with those 20 extra years, Bennett brings experience that will hopefully translate into Blue Devil wins.
"He's a great coach," Campbell said. "We've learned so much from him. The way he teaches is just great for quarterbacks. For us, Coach Bennett is ideal.
"We'll go through a play and we'll come back and he'll say, 'I know what you were thinking here. This is good and I understand it.' You can tell he's been through it before and that he's had the same thought process before, so there's always that understanding."
Bennett's pupils all sense personal improvement and give Bennett a lot of the credit. But what does the teacher think of his students' prospects this season?
"It's tough to say. Like Mike Tyson used to say, 'Everyone has a plan until they're hit. I think at this point, they all look pretty solid. I've never seen any of them in game situations in person.... I don't really care about what happened before. All I care about is what they do now."
This promises to be an eventful season for Ben Bennett. On the plus side, he is eager to make his collegiate coaching debut. But on the downside, one of his proudest records is about to fall. N.C. State's Jamie Barnette is on pace to break Bennett's ACC career passing record this fall.
"Not if I can get him lined up in the cross hairs he's not. Barnette meets untimely fate; that'll be your headline," Bennett joked.
Or at least it seemed like a joke.
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