Benny Snell Jr.

Benny Snell Jr.'s Biography

Benjamin Snell Jr., born February 26, 1998, is a well-recognized name in the domain of American professional football. He held the position of a running back. Currently a free agent, his journey from college football for the Kentucky Wildcats to the professional sphere is one full of records, awards, and recognition. Interestingly, he hails from a lineage of football prowess, being the great-nephew of former New York Jets running back Matt Snell.

Benjamin Snell Sr., the father of Benjamin Snell Jr., is an alumnus of the reputed Ohio Northern University. Like his son, he too had his time under the sun in the football arena, playing in the NFL Europe and the XFL.

The early years of Snell Jr.’s career were spent attending Westerville Central High School. His talent emerged and ironically began to soar during his time there – he won two Ohio Capital Conference titles. It was his junior year that brought his abilities to the forefront – Snell Jr. achieved a remarkable feat as he rushed for 2,077 yards, scoring an impressive 26 touchdowns exclusively on the ground. This was coupled with two receiving touchdowns that year. As a senior, he continued to shine, with a total of 1,826 rushing yards, 264 receiving yards and a whopping 29 touchdowns. His performance did not go unnoticed and he was eventually rated as a three-star recruit. Presented with several options, Snell chose Kentucky over ambitious propositions from Iowa, Cincinnati, Boston College, Toledo, and West Virginia.

Snell Jr.’s freshman year in 2016 witnessed his first milestone – he rushed for 1,091 yards, breaking the long-held Kentucky freshman rushing record by Moe Williams, and scored 13 rushing touchdowns. In this year alone, he set six Kentucky freshman records, earning him recognition as a True Freshman All-American by ESPN and 247Sports, FWAA Freshman All-American, Freshman All-SEC, and a Second-team All-SEC pick by Pro Football Focus.

2017 saw the rise of Snell Jr. as a sophomore, rushing for 1,333 yards, scoring 19 rushing touchdowns. Remarkably, he became the first ever in Kentucky to have 10 plus career 100-yard rushing games even before his junior season. Notably, he was the only player since 2000 in SEC to have at least 116 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in three games consecutively. He earned the title of being the ninth in school history to rush 2,000 yards in his career and secured the nineteenth position in SEC history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards prior to his junior season. Snell Jr., was the only player in the history of the school to have back-to-back 1,000 yard rushing seasons. He was chosen for the preseason Associated Press All-SEC First-team[4] and All-SEC Second-team, and was enlisted on the Doak Walker Award Watch List and the Maxwell Award Watch List.

During his time as a junior in 2018, Snell rushed for 1,449 yards and scored 16 rushing touchdowns. He was one among the four running backs in SEC history who managed to have three consecutive 1,000 yard rushing seasons, joining the ranks of Herschel Walker, Darren McFadden, and Alex Collins. His 12-yard touchdown run against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the 2019 Citrus Bowl led him to become the school’s career rushing yards leader, breaking the 43-year-old record held by Sonny Collins. This feat won him a First-team All-SEC nomination by SEC coaches. On December 14, 2018, he made the decision to enter the 2019 NFL draft, choosing to forgo his senior season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Snell in the fourth round with the 122nd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. His performances against the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens in 2019 marked the onset of his professional career. His first breakthrough came in a match against the New York Giants during Week 1 of the 2020 season after James Conner suffered an injury. He rushed 19 times for 113 rushing yards, helping the Steelers win the game 26–16.

On August 10, 2023, Snell signed with the Detroit Lions, only to be released on August 29, 2023. In October 2023, the Arizona Cardinals welcomed Snell for a workout, indicating his resilience in the face of adversities and his undying passion for the game.