Although the varsity football team won only three of their 10 games this season, defensive tackle senior Lorenzo Bennett was sought after by a Division II university (typically a smaller public or private university with under 10,000 students that offers partial scholarships for football rather than full rides) in Oklahoma. Bennett admits there has been talk of him starting at Southeastern Oklahoma State come next football season, regardless of the fact that he will only be a freshman and this rarely happens.

“I have the size for it,” Bennett said. “Pretty much, it’s been said that I will start. I just have to go out and play and see how it goes.”

Originally, Bennett was hoping to play at either UNT, SMU or Arkansas State. However, when Southeastern Oklahoma State contacted him, Bennett visited with his father and decided that was where he wanted to attend.

“The coach just called me one day,” Bennett said. “He was talking about the school and stuff like that. It sounded pretty good.”

Bennett applied to Southeastern at the beginning of his senior year and was accepted about half-way through football season. Later on, he was offered a scholarship.

“They saw my film,” Bennett said. “They saw what I could do.”

Bennett admits he will be glad to be away from the high school setting for several different reasons. Some are related to football, while others are not.

“[I look forward to] being away from my parents and being able to make my own decisions,” Bennett said. “[Also], not having to take up for other people, knowing everyone can take care of themselves [in football].”

When it comes to playing in college, Bennett knows the game will be a little different than what he is used to in high school football.

“It’ll just be a quicker game,” Bennett said. “You’ll have to make decisions quicker. You just have to be faster, think faster.”

Bennett hopes to end up becoming a high school football coach. To get there, Bennett will be majoring in Kinesiology — the study of the mechanics of body movements. Although he was approached to play football, Bennett already knew what he wanted to major in and simply needed to ensure Southeastern offered it.

“I want to be a football coach, because of Coach Castillo and Coach Dagen,” Bennett said. “They both motivate me every day and make me want to be a better person and perform to the best of my ability. I wanna help kids the same way.”

Bennett feels as though he has gotten the largest amount of support for football from his father.

“Anytime I had something with football, like a practice or had to go do something, he was always there for me,” Bennett said. “He’s always there pushing me my hardest and giving me advice.”

Although Southeastern was not a part of the original plan, Bennett said he is sure that is where he wants to be, come next season, simply because they came looking for him.

“I decided that’s where I want to go, where I am wanted,” Bennett said.

Southeastern knew of Bennett after speaking to head coach Joe Castillo, who then recommended Bennett because of his playing abilities.

“I can’t take credit for Lorenzo receiving a scholarship to play at Southeastern,” Castillo said. “He received the scholarship for many reasons: he is an outstanding player, outstanding citizen and 3.0 GPA student. He is a true student-athlete.”