On November 2, 2000, Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine and Fox Sports Net announced their 2000 Player of the Year Award Finalists, and among the five finalists for Class A was Ben.This prestigious award has been presented since 1972, however it was not until 1995 that Fox Sports Net and Texas Football recognized the state's top senior in each classification.
Ben has been a member of the Springlake-Earth Wolverine Varsity football program for two years. This year he totaled 86 tackles, including 23 for a loss, five sacks, and two fumble recoveries. He served as a team captain for the Wolverines and offensive and defensive tackle. Last year he received several awards: District Defensive MVP, All-South Plains Defensive Lineman, and All-State Second Team Defensive Lineman.
Being so massive--6-foot-5, 250 pounds--he will have to choose his next playing field carefully. He has attracted the attention of numerous Division I schools including the likes of Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, the University of New Mexico, Tulsa, and SMU.
"I received hundreds of letters from various schools during the last couple of years," Ben said. "Texas Tech, being close to home, would be nice to play for."
"Then, there is Eastern New Mexico University. There have been some good players from Springlake-Earth (Brian Hulett, Mike Walton, John Williams, James Williams, Rowdy Clark) go there and do well. The biggest drawback about Eastern New Mexico is it doesn't offer a degree in chemical engineering. That's what I want to study in college, so I'm going to be looking for a school that offers it."
Playing on both sides of the ball for the Wolverines, Ben will definitely have to decide between offense and defense in college.
"Of the two, I probably like defense the best," he said. "On that side of the ball, I think there is just more physical contact. I like that part of the game best."
