Newly-Offered Georgia DL Talks Brown, Carolina

Justin Benton, a class of 2023 strongside defensive end from Newton High School in Covington, GA, recently courted an offer from North Carolina.

“UNC defensive line coach Tim Cross offered me, it wasn’t a surprise,” the 6-foot-2, 250-pounder told THI. I really like coach cross and the relationship that we have built he’s a great guy and a great coach.”

Despite being a Georgia legacy, his fatrher, Phillip Benton played for the Bulldogs, Benton recently told Chad Simmons of Rivals.com national he is wide open and listening to others.

“It is still too early to think about committing. People assume Georgia is the school for me, abs I do love Georgia, but I am keeping my options open.”

Aside from UNC, so far he’s collected offers from LSU, Georgia, Florida State, Oregon, Tennessee, South Carolina and USC among others.

Tar Heel Illustrated caught up with the rising sophomore lineman to discuss the recent UNC offer, Mack Brown and more.

Here is the rest of the interview:

THI: What are your thoughts on Hall of Fame head coach Mack Brown and the impact he’s making thus far in Chapel Hill?

BENTON: “I like what they’ve been able to do as far as bringing coach Mack back into the football world. He is a winner and I have that same mentality he has.”

THI: When offering you, what did the staff say they liked about you?

BENTON: “They loved my academics and me as a player.”

THI: What have you been doing to stay in shape and get ready for your season during the shutdown?

BENTON: “Well, during quarantine I was working out every day with some of my teammates in my backyard and now we’re back at school and have been back for 2 weeks now conditioning and lifting getting ready for a huge season this year.”