A complete transcription of Earl Bennett's Jan. 10 press conference announcing his decision to forego his senior year at Vanderbilt and declare himself eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft.
Earl Bennett
First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for coming out and sharing this moment with me. After thinking weeks and weeks about the situation, talking it over with my family, talking it over with my coaches, my friends, close relatives, and mainly just talking to God and asking him to guide me the right way and keeping me under his guidance throughout this process; throughout the weeks, I went through deep consideration, deep evaluation, talking the whole process out with Coach Johnson, analyzing different strategies and things, so with that said, I've decided to skip my senior year and make myself eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft. It just came out that I had a great three years at Vanderbilt; there's nowhere else I'd rather have been in these three years, and I just thank Coach Johnson and his staff for continuing to recruit me even when I was committed to Kentucky, thanking them for the chance to let me come into this program and continue to build on it.
Coach Bobby Johnson
We're certainly sad about that, in a selfish point of view, but we're also very thrilled for Earl. We think it's a great opportunity, and I'm just very pleased with what Earl has gone through, with this process and the way he's thought through the whole thing. This is not a spur-of-the-moment decision; Earl did a fantastic job of weighing all the pluses and the minuses and finding out what was best for him and his family. After he's done that kind of process, we feel very strongly about supporting him in every way we can. It goes without saying that Earl Bennett was a fantastic football player for us, a fantastic ambassador for Vanderbilt football, and you go through and you look at the way he has represented our program in every way, you couldn't ask for any more from Earl Bennett. We're gonna wish him the very best, we're gonna help him in any way we can; this is one of the great things about America. You have choices to make, and I have no doubts that Earl will be a fantastic football player in the NFL, and I look forward to watching him; I have another excuse to watch NFL football.
Questions for Earl Bennett
What were the pluses and minuses that you went through?
I mean, I was just weighing out different options. If I come back, I always risk getting injured. There were a lot of pluses and a lot of minuses, and I felt like just talking to God and asking him to guide me in the right way, I can't go wrong with the decision whether I came back or whether I left. Vanderbilt is a fine university, you have great teammates, great players, and Vanderbilt's gonna do great things next year, and I just sat and talked to God and asked him to guide me in the right way. That was the ultimate factor.
What did the NFL tell you about what your stock was and where you would expect to be drafted?
That came back, Coach Johnson and I talked about it, and he explained in detail how specific it was. That wasn't the ultimate decision that made me forego my senior year. It was me feeling like my time at Vanderbilt was up, and just talking to God, praying and asking him.
When did you start getting the concept in your mind that this year would be it for you?
It was after the season. During the season, I had no thoughts of the NFL, I was just helping us try to go to a bowl game. That was my number one goal, and even when I was out there with nagging injuries I'm still trying to play to help this team go to a bowl game. I wasn't thinking about it [the NFL] during the season. After the season, I sat down with my mom and dad and with Coach Johnson, we went through the entire process and the paperwork, and that's when I started thinking about it.
What do you say when other people say, "he had the chance to be the greatest receiver in NCAA history, and he passed that up?"
It's not all about records. It's about your character, what kind of person you are, and how you carry yourself on and off the field. I feel like Vanderbilt University and my coaches helped me a lot to mature into the man that I am today. Hopefully people will remember me by my character and not my outstanding ability on the football field.
Earl, was it tough to tell Coach Johnson your decision?
Definitely. I love Coach Johnson to death; he's been there by my side, anything I needed help with he was always helping, whether it was on the field, off the field, or in the classroom. It was a tough decision to tell him because I just love being around him; he's a great guy. I really thank him a lot for allowing me to come here and play.
You look at all the things you've done over the years; what will you remember most about your Vanderbilt career?
When we beat Tennessee. That will probably be the one I remember the most. It was a great game; it's been a couple years since we beat them, so that will probably be the thing. It was a team victory.
A lot of times people cut their hair when it's time to be a professional, is that the inspiration for the haircut?
[Roaring laughter] No, I actually was gonna cut it either way. I got tired of it, I was ready for a new look. This is the second time I've had the dreads and cut them off, so it really wasn't a big deal.
Earl, in the next few weeks and months, what do you have to do to make football a business now?
Focus on the whole entire process. Now that this process is over, I have to go into a whole new process, who will I hire as an agent, getting ready to train and work out, that's the biggest thing. In the NFL, everyone wants to see if you can run, if you can jump, if you can lift weights and those types of things. Just preparing myself mentally and physically for that process is the next step for me.
Earl, have you drawn on the experience Jay Cutler has had about what it's like to be a pro football player?
I actually reached out to Jay about a week ago and talked to him about the situation. We talked through text message, and he told me to believe in God and that God will help me in the right way. Just stay focused, and you can't go wrong with either situation. I feel like Jay has definitely been like a big brother to me throughout this process, and I really thank him.
From the homework you've done, where do you feel like you fall in the draft?
Hopefully I'm one of the top receivers taken in this year's draft. My coaches have prepared me a lot to be one of the top players in the nation. Thanks to my hard work and dedication and their great coaching, it really helped me to be one of the top players.
The Titans need some receivers, would you want to come back and play for them?
[Laughs] It would be great to come back here and play in Nashville, in the state of Tennessee. It'd be great to play with Vince Young; they've become a great team, they made it to the playoffs this year, so I'm up for it.
What do you think you have to offer NFL teams?
If they want a great guy on and off the field, I can provide that. Hopefully I can provide some excitement on the field, just go out and work hard, I'm always willing to take that extra mile to get better.
When Coach Johnson you're a wonderful ambassador for this school; what would you tell a recruit who was deciding whether or not to come to Vanderbilt?
Come! This is a great university, there's no other place I'd rather be. You've got a fine institute with great academics, you have great coaching staffs, great facilities, and you're playing in the SEC against some of the top players in the nation. The national champions the past two years have been SEC teams, so if you come here you're gonna play against the best, be on national television, SportsCenter, and it's a great atmosphere. Dudley Field, the fans, it's a crazy atmosphere. Come, Vanderbilt University!
I've been told your mom was a big fan of you getting your degree. How much did you have to sell her on the idea of coming out early?
I actually had to sell her a lot on this one because that was all she kept saying. I said, "Mom, what do you think?" She said, "just as long as you get your degree." I am gonna get my degree; I'm gonna sit down, talk with Coach Johnson and our counselor, Mrs. Elizabeth to make sure that I receive my degree within a year and a half. I won't wait two years and try to come back.
How close are you?
I'm very close to my degree right now thanks to Coach Johnson pushing Chancellor Williams to letting us go to summer school... [laughter]
Coach Johnson
I just want to let you know, last semester Earl earned a 3.25 GPA. He's a serious student and he's serious about getting his degree.
I take it, Earl, that you won't be in school this semester?
Earl Bennett
I still haven't decided on that situation. I know school started yesterday, and I had a class yesterday and one Friday, so today and Friday would be my only classes missed. I'm gonna sit down and see what obstacles I have to go through because I still want to take classes, try to finish up in the spring.
Jay had to make this same decision his junior year, decided to come back and really improved his draft status. Did you think that coming back for another year could do that for you, or did you think you've proven all you can prove?
Anytime you can come back, you can always improve your status, especially if you do well. You also have to think about the negatives; if you do come back and you don't have a productive season and you don't meet expectations, you have to wonder if you'd fall. If you get hurt, then people wonder, "can he play through injuries?" Those are types of things you have to think about also.
Did getting to a bowl game next year factor into your decision?
Yeah, definitely. I wanted to get to a bowl game so bad; I'd sit on the bench to get that sixth win. Getting to a bowl game, that's what we talked about all last spring up until the first game against Richmond. Game by game, I felt like we were doing a great job but we just couldn't finish. I just wish we could have finished.
What's the first thing you want to buy?
My mom a house.
Questions for Coach Johnson
As you went through the process of applying to the NFL, how much did their information influence the decision?
Like Earl said, that's not what the entire decision was based on. It was nice to get that information, it was helpful, but we believe Earl is a top-notch football player who can compete with anyone who's going out in the draft. He's gonna do a good job of getting ready to prove that to the scouts when they come around. We just felt like Earl, just what he said, the time was right. He felt like it was in his best interest to do it. That was the key factor.
Human nature might be for a coach to be selfish in this kind of situation, focusing a lot on the positives. How tough was it for you to fight that?
It's kind of hard, but we all met as a group, and when you look at a family and see them trying to make a decision, you realize that you can't be selfish and you have to go with what's best for the young man and the family. It was tough. For a minute there we all had to sit down and say, "Hey, whatever happens is gonna be great, whether he comes back and plays another year at Vanderbilt or he goes to the NFL, it's gonna be great for Earl. We knew we couldn't make a bad decision. It was a good process, and like I said before, I really appreciate Earl going through that and not making a snap decision and saying, "I can make it in the NFL." He did his homework.
You often say you have no idea what the NFL wants. What do you think Earl has that would translate into making him an effective receiver there?
Just like Earl said, he's a good guy. He's got character, he's got work habits, he's got loads of talent, and I think those talents will come out and be evident to anyone who's gonna look hard to find them. For us, he was a tremendous receiver, strong, great hands, great after the catch, knew our concepts, could learn things. I agree with Earl, he can make it in the NFL and he'll have something positive to give to any team.
What's he got to prove and show in the combine and workouts to convince NFL teams of his skill?
Just what Earl said, the things that are measurable. Your [40-yard dash] time, your weightlifting, how high you jump; I think you can look at Earl and see he's a specimen that you don't have to improve too much. He's tall, fast; if you're comparing him to somebody else, there are things that Earl's gonna have to prove, and he knows that.
Last couple of years, you've talked about guys who've changed this program. Jay did that when he was here, has Earl done the same?
Earl's a huge part of us having a chance to win some of the big games we won, and also the chance we had to move our program forward. Earl's done a huge part in moving our program forward. I think he can help do that in the NFL; he's gonna immediately add a lot of class to any team.
Any stories about Earl that stick out from the past three years?
For a while, I thought Earl only knew two words: "Yes, sir." Obviously that's not true; he's very smart and he's a great student for us. It was fun getting to know Earl and getting to talk to him.
