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Published Feb 28, 2019
What Benny Snell said at the NFL Combine on Thursday
Radi Nabulsi
Special to Cats Illustrated

Benny Snell, Kentucky's all-time leading rusher, arrived at the NFL Combine on Thursday and met with reporters to discuss the next few days.

...At the end of your NFL career what do you want to say you accomplished?

Snell: ... My answers are usually like I got (inaudible) Super Bowls under my belt. I want to be a Pro Bowler. I want to say I'm blessed enough to be a Hall of Famer. I want to have multiple 1,000 yard seasons. I want to be a starter. So I just go down the line and they're impressed.

(Editor's note: Part of that question was what Snell says when he speaks with NFL franchises).

What teams have you talked to?

Snell: I've talked to a ton (laugh).

If you won a Super Bowl ring you wouldn't be the only one, obviously in your family, with Matt Snell.

Snell: With Matt Snell. That's right. I've got to try to, I've got to up the family. You know what I'm saying? I've got to sustain and then I've got to get multiple rings. So that's gonna be good, exciting.

What was your relationship with him growing up?

Snell: Growing up I really didn't get to talk to him much because he's like, super older, and I don't think he stays in Ohio anymore but I remember having an encounter with him once. I was really, super little so I didn't know at the time. But he's had a good time with my dad and my parents.

Have you watched the highlights of him?

Snell: That's usually how I end my night. Watching him. Just a player with so much power. He's power, he stays low. It would take like three guys to tackle him. One guy's definitely not tackling him. Whenever, like, you put the ball in his hands when you need him, that's when he produces the most. Whenever he won the Super Bowl, Joe Namath won MVP, it should have been Matt Snell that got MVP. Straight up. I don't care.

When you would see those highlights would you be like, 'Wait, I do that too.'

Snell: Yeah. It's crazy because, like, it really runs in the family. It's really just that low based, the way we move our hips, the way we make our cuts, I kinda watch him, I watch my dad and I watch myself. It's all similar. It's crazy.

What part of your game right now do you think is being critically underrated?

Snell: My speed. And that's what I'm working on.

(Paraphrased- inaudible) What are you doing to improve that?

Snell: I've been changing the way that I eat and my diet. I weighed in at 224. I wanted to be 225. That was my playing weight. So I've been lightening up here soon. So whenever I run I'm going to be as light as I can.

(Paraphrased- Inaudible) How prepared are you for tomorrow?

Snell: I'm very excited. I'm very ready. This is what I've been dreaming about ever since I was a young one so I'm excited. I don't want to overthink it. I just want to be Benny Snell on the field. He just plays football.

You talk third person when you talk to NFL teams?

Snell: I go third person with whoever it is.

What have they asked you about?

Snell: They've asked about my production. They've asked about how does it feel being that guy with all the attention. You know, just things like that. Really just I give them a regular base of like who I am, the passion I have for the game. And they kinda already knew.

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