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Illinois
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  Arrelious Benn
Arrelious Benn

Player Profile
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Washington, D.C.
High School:
Dunbar
Height / Weight:
6-2 / 214
Position:
WR
Experience:
4-3

  • Maxwell Award Candidate
  • Bliletnikoff Award Candidate
  • Preseason Third-Team All-American (by Athlon)
  • Preseason First-Team All-Big Ten (by Athlon)
  • Preseason First-Team All-Big Ten wide receiver and kick returner (by Blue Ribbon)
  • Preseason First-Team All-Big Ten (by Lindy's)
  • Preseason First-Team All-Big Ten (by The Sporting News)

  • Named Big Ten's Fastest Receiver (by The Sporting News)
  • Rated the No. 20 player in the nation (by The Sporting News)
  • Rated the No. 19 wide receiver in the nation (by Lindy's)
  • Rated the No. 1 wide receiver in the Big Ten (by The Sporting News)
  • 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year
  • 2007 Freshman All-American

2008: Ranks 16th in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten in receiving yards per game (92.0) ... Also ranks third in the Big Ten in receptions per game (5.73) ... Reached 1,000 yards for the first time in his career and the first for an Illini since 2002 ... One of only four Illini receivers to ever reach 1,000 yards receiving in a season ... Tallied over 100 receiving yards in four consecutive games for the first time in school history (vs. Ind, Minn., Mich., PSU) ... Caught three passes for 65 yards against Ohio State to total 1,012 yards on the season ... Had 227 all-purpose yards against Western Michigan, with seven catches for 111 yards, two rushes for 10 yards, three kick returns for 75 yards and a punt return for 31 yards ... Had seven catches for 96 yards against Iowa, also rushing twice for 15 yards and returning two punts ... Had two catches for 47 yards and a 63-yard kickoff return at Wisconsin ... Caught seven passes for 130 yards against Indiana, including a 37-yard TD reception ... Had a career receiving game against Minnesota, catching 12 passes for 181 yards, both career bests ... Caught six passes for 122 yards to lead the Illini at Michigan and also rushed for 20 yards ... Had four receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns at Penn State ... Had 14 touches against Eastern Illinois for 124 all-purpose yards (seven receptions, five rushes and two returns) ... Scored the first two rushing touchdowns of his career against the Panthers, running for a career-high 48 yards ... Caught seven passes for 92 yards against Missouri ... Also returned four kickoffs for 67 yards with a long of 28 against Missouri.

2007: Named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year by both the coaches and media ... Also earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors from The Sporting News ... Garnered second-team Freshman All-America honors by The Sporting News, Scout.com and Rivals.com ... Earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from Rivals.com ... Broke the Illini record for receiving yards by a freshman against Ball State (formerly Brandon Lloyd, 511, 1999) ... Broke the UI freshman receptions record (Ty Douthard, 43, 1993) with four catches at Minnesota ... Tied for 15th in receptions per game and 16th in receiving yards per game in the Big Ten ... Ranked 15th in the Big Ten in all-purpose yards ... Had a career-high five catches for 80 yards in the Rose Bowl vs. USC ... Also tied his season-long catch with a 56-yard touchdown from Eddie McGee vs. USC ... Caught two passes for 16 yards and rushed three times for 23 yards against Northwestern ... Caught one pass for seven yards and returned one kickoff for 25 yards at No. 1 Ohio State ... Caught four passes for 17 yards, ran four times for 13 yards and had one kickoff return for 26 yards at Minnesota ... Caught four passes for a career-high 97 yards, rushed twice for 13 yards and had three kickoff returns for 51 yards against Ball State ... Had five catches for 35 yards against No. 25 Michigan ... Grabbed four passes for a career-high 87 yards and rushed twice for 13 yards at Iowa ... Caught five passes for 51 yards, rushed twice for five yards and had two kickoff returns for 43 yards against No. 5 Wisconsin ... Named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week with his breakout game against No. 21 Penn State, taking his first career kickoff return for a 90-yard touchdown, catching a career-best six passes for 84 yards and his first career receiving TD, and rushing twice for five yards ... Earned a "Helmet Sticker" award from the ESPN College GameDay crew for his performance against Penn State and was one of four nominees for the AT&T All-America National Player of the Week Award ... Tied a career high with five catches for 50 yards and rushed four times for 22 yards at Indiana ... Caught four passes for 26 yards and ran four times for 28 yards at Syracuse ... Caught four passes for 52 yards and had three rushes for 38 yards against Western Illinois ... Started his first game as an Illini against Missouri, catching five passes for 74 yards.

High School: 2006 USA Today first-team All-American ... Parade All-American ... 2006 DC Gatorade Player of the Year ... Named the Walter Payton Award winner by EA Sports for most-dedicated high school athlete ... 2006 East U.S. Army All-American ... SuperPrep All-American ... Earned first-team All-Met honors by The Washington Post in both 2005 and 2006 ... Named the SuperPrep MidAtlantic Offensive Player of the Year ... Rated the 17th-best player in the country by Rivals.com ... Also ranked No. 17 by ESPN.com ... Five-star player by Rivals.com ... Ranked as the No. 2 receiver in the country and second-best DC-area player by Rivals.com ... A five-star recruit, ranking as No. 2 wide receiver nationally by Scout.com ... Ranked 19th on PrepStar's 100 Team ... SuperPrep Elite 50 ... Caught 56 passes for 1,039 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior ... Also averaged nine yards a carry, rushing for three touchdowns ... Led team to four straight Turkey Bowls ... Was the first player in Dunbar High School history to crack 1,000 yards receiving ... As a junior, caught 50 passes for 1,147 yards and 17 touchdowns ... Averaged 23.1 yards per catch in 2005.

Personal: Born Sept. 8, 1988 ... Son of Denise Benn... Full given name is Arrelious Markus Benn ... Enrolled in general studies ... Chose Illinois over Florida State, Notre Dame and Maryland.


Career Highs:

Receptions: 12 vs. Minnesota, 10/11/08
Receiving Yards: 181 vs. Minnesota, 10/11/08
Long Reception: 56, twice (last vs. USC, 1/1/08)
Rushes: 5 vs. Penn State, 9/29/07
Rushing Yards: 23 at Syracuse, 9/15/07
Long Rush: 18 vs. Western Illinois, 9/8/07
KO Returns: 1 vs. Penn Sate, 9/29/07
KO Return Yards: 90 vs. Penn State, 9/29/07
Long KO Return: 90 vs. Penn State, 9/29/07


Benn's Statistics:

Season Totals Rushing Receiving Passing Kick Ret Punt Ret all
Year no. yds td lg no. yds td lg c-a-i yds td lg no. yds td lg no. yds td lg purp
2007 32 158 0 23 54 676 2 56 0-0-0 0 0 0 10 280 1 90 0 0 0 0 1,114
2008 23 101 2 17 67 1,055 3 54 0-0-0 0 0 0 20 398 0 63 15 114 0 31 1,668
TOTALS 55 259 2 23 121 1,731 5 56 0-0-0 0 0 0 30 678 1 90 15 114 0 31 2,782


Season Totals Tackles Sacks Fumble Int pass blkd PAT PAT
Year solo ast total tfl yds no. yds ff fr yds no. yds qbh brup kick kicks rush rcv saf pts
2007 4 0 4 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 18
2008 3 0 3 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 30
TOTALS 7 0 7 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 48

2008 Rushing Receiving Passing Kick Ret Punt Ret all
Date Opponent no. yds td lg no. yds td lg c-a-i yds td lg no. yds td lg no. yds td lg purp
Aug 30, 2008 vs. Missouri 1 -5 0 -5 7 92 0 30 0-0-0 0 0 0 4 67 0 28 0 0 0 0 154
Sep 06, 2008 EASTERN ILLINOIS 5 48 2 17 7 36 0 18 0-0-0 0 0 0 1 18 0 18 1 22 0 22 124
Sep 13, 2008 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 3 10 0 11 1 22 0 22 0-0-0 0 0 0 1 6 0 6 1 5 0 5 43
Sep 27, 2008 at Penn State 2 0 0 1 4 110 2 54 0-0-0 0 0 0 1 24 0 24 0 0 0 0 134
Oct 4, 2008 at Michigan 3 20 0 13 6 122 0 46 0-0-0 0 0 0 2 40 0 21 1 6 0 6 188
Oct 11, 2008 MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0 12 181 0 31 0-0-0 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 2 16 0 9 199
Oct. 18, 2008 INDIANA 2 -6 0 -6 7 130 1 37 0-0-0 0 0 0 1 23 0 23 0 0 0 0 147
Oct 25, 2008 at Wisconsin 1 1 0 1 2 47 0 37 0-0-0 0 0 0 2 90 0 63 3 16 0 12 154
Nov 1, 2008 IOWA 2 15 0 9 7 96 0 24 0-0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 15 0 13 126
Nov 8, 2008 vs. Western Michigan 2 10 0 7 7 111 0 37 0-0-0 0 0 0 3 75 0 27 1 31 0 31 227
Nov 15, 2008 OHIO STATE 0 0 0 0 3 65 0 30 0-0-0 0 0 0 1 17 0 017 1 0 0 2 82
Nov 22, 2008 at Northwestern 2 8 0 7 4 43 0 16 0-0-0 0 0 0 3 36 0 16 2 3 0 6 90

Games played: 12
Avg. per rush: 4.4
Avg per catch: 15.7
Kick ret avg: 19.9
Punt ret avg: 7.6
All purpose avg/game: 139.0
Total offense avg/gm: 8.4

2008 Tackles Sacks Fumble Int pass blkd PAT PAT
Date Opponent solo ast total tfl yds no. yds ff fr yds no. yds qbh brup kick kicks rush rcv saf pts
Aug 30, 2008 vs. Missouri 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Sep 06, 2008 EASTERN ILLINOIS 2 0 2 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 12
Sep 13, 2008 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 1 0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Sep 27, 2008 at Penn State 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 12
Oct 4, 2008 at Michigan 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Oct 11, 2008 MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Oct 18, 2008 INDIANA 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 6
Oct 25, 2008 at Wisconsin 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Nov 1, 2008 IOWA 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Nov 08, 2008 vs. Western Michigan 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Nov 15, 2008 OHIO STATE 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Nov 22, 2008 at Northwestern 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0



2007 Rushing Receiving Passing Kick Ret Punt Ret all
Date Opponent no. yds td lg no. yds td lg c-a-i yds td lg no. yds td lg no. yds td lg purp
Sep 01, 2007 vs Missouri 3 -6 0 13 5 74 0 25 0-0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 68
Sep 08, 2007 WESTERN ILLINOIS 3 38 0 18 4 52 0 28 0-0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 90
Sep 15, 2007 at Syracuse 4 28 0 23 4 26 0 18 0-0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 54
Sep 22, 2007 at Indiana 4 22 0 15 5 50 0 18 0-0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 72
Sep 29, 2007 PENN STATE 5 9 0 5 6 84 1 29 0-0-0 0 0 0 1 90 1 90 0 0 0 0 183
Oct 06, 2007 WISCONSIN 2 5 0 7 5 51 0 26 0-0-0 0 0 0 2 43 0 24 0 0 0 0 99
Oct. 13, 2007 at Iowa 2 13 0 11 4 87 0 33 0-0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100
Oct 20, 2007 MICHIGAN 0 0 0 0 5 35 0 20 0-0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35
Oct 27, 2007 BALL STATE 2 13 0 11 4 97 0 56 0-0-0 0 0 0 3 51 0 23 0 0 0 0 161
Nov 03, 2007 at Minnesota 4 13 0 7 4 17 0 11 0-0-0 0 0 0 1 26 0 26 0 0 0 0 56
Nov 10, 2007 at Ohio State 0 0 0 0 1 7 0 7 0-0-0 0 0 0 1 25 0 25 0 0 0 0 32
Nov 17, 2007 NORTHWESTERN 3 23 0 13 2 16 0 11 0-0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 39
Jan 1, 2008 vs. USC 0 0 0 0 5 80 1 56 0-0-0 0 0 0 2 45 0 23 0 0 0 0 125
Totals 32 158 0 23 54 676 2 56 0-0-0 0 0 0 10 280 1 90 0 0 0 0 1114

Games played: 12
Avg per rush: 4.9
Avg per catch: 12.2
Kick ret avg: 29.4
All purpose avg/game: 82.4
Total offense avg/gm: 13.2

2007 Tackles Sacks Fumble Int pass blkd PAT PAT
Date Opponent solo ast total tfl yds no. yds ff fr yds no. yds qbh brup kick kicks rush rcv saf pts
Sep 01, 2007 vs Missouri 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Sep 08, 2007 WESTERN ILLINOIS 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Sep 15, 2007 at Syracuse 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Sep 22, 2007 at Indiana 1 0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Sep 29, 2007 PENN STATE 1 0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 12
Oct 06, 2007 WISCONSIN 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Oct. 13, 2007 at Iowa 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Oct 20, 2007 MICHIGAN 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Oct 27, 2007 BALL STATE 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Nov 03, 2007 at Minnesota 1 0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Nov 10, 2007 at Ohio State 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Nov 17, 2007 NORTHWESTERN 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Jan 1, 2008 vs. USC 1 0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 6
Totals 4 0 4 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 18


updated 12/1/08