Illinois's Arrelious Benn (Dunbar/Washington DC)

As part of an on-going series throughout the fall, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame follows the graduates of its Play It Smart program as they make their mark on the college gridiron.

True freshman Travis Benjamin (Glades Central/Belle Glade, FL) continued his impressive debut season for Miami in their 49-31 victory over Duke. The wide receiver posted 167 all-purpose yards including a 17 yard TD reception. Linebacker Vincent Rey (Bayside/Queens, NY) recorded eight tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception for Duke. Jabari Marshall (Benjamin Mays/Atlanta, GA) also notched five tackles for the Duke defense.

DJ Boldin (Pahokee/Pahokee, FL) lead the Wake Forest receiving attack with seven receptions for 72 yards for Wake Forest as the Demon Deacons were shut out 26-0 by Maryland.

Marvin Austin (Ballou/Washington, DC) recorded four tackles in North Carolina’s 16-13 overtime loss to Virginia.

Arrelious Benn (Dunbar/Washington, DC) lead Illinois with seven receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown as the Illini beat Indiana 55-13. The performance marked the sophomore’s 4th consecutive game with at least 100 receiving yards, which was a school record.

Jonathan Casillas (New Brunswick/New Brunswick, NJ) recorded five tackles in Wisconsin’s 38-16 loss to Iowa.

Purdue defensive back Royce Adams (Glenville/Cleveland, OH) recorded 10 tackles and a tackle for loss as the Boilermakers defeated Northwestern 48-26.

Bryan Williams (Akron-Bucthel/Akron, OH) and Al-Teric Balaam (New Brunswick/New Brunswick, NJ) combined for four tackles including one and half tackles for a loss in Akron’s 42-35 win over Eastern Michigan.

Air Force spoiled UNLV’s upset bid with a 29-28 win. Anthony Wright (Maple Heights/Maple Heights, OH) had three tackles in the victory.

New Mexico handed San Diego State a big loss, winning 70-7. Terence Brown (Cesar Chavez/Laveen, AZ) rushed for 62 yards on three carries. Brown also had one touchdown in the win.

UCLA’s Terrence Austin (Long Beach Poly/Long Beach, CA) had an impressive performance against conference foe Stanford. Austin finished the game with 150 yards on 11 touches and one touchdown. UCLA prevailed over Stanford 23-20.

Alabama held off Ole Miss 24-20 in a battle of the SEC West. Javier Arenas (Robinson/Tampa, FL) had five tackles and 118 return yards in the win. On the other side Mike Wallace (O. Perry Walker/New Orleans, LA) gained 111 yards on six touches in the loss. Kendrick Lewis, a high school teammate of Wallace, had six tackles in the game and picked off a pass in the loss.

South Carolina and LSU battled it out in an SEC match up, with LSU prevailing 24-17. Mike Davis (Columbia/Columbia, SC) had 23 rushing yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Florida International sophomore wide out Greg Ellingson (Robinson/Tampa, FL) had six receptions for 75 yards in FIU’s 33-23 loss to Troy.

Derrick Richardson (Chandler/Chandler, AZ) had eight tackles and one interception as New Mexico State fell to San Jose State 31-14.

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With major financial support from the NFL and the NFL Players Association, and a broad-coalition of corporations, communities, individuals and organizations, the program has quickly become one of the most comprehensive and effective youth mentoring programs, achieving dramatic results that include:

• 95% of seniors graduating high school, compared to 76% of their peers;



• 80% of seniors enrolling in college compared to 63% of their peers;



• Participants completing more than 55,000 service hours annually;



• Participants earning more than $8 million a year in scholarships; and



• 270-plus graduates earning places among the elite collegiate ranks during the 2008 season on Football Bowl and Championship Subdivision rosters.

Prominent alumni include Ohio State’s Ted Ginn, Jr. (Miami Dolphins), Rutgers’ Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens), California’s Desean Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles), Miami’s Leon Williams (Cleveland Browns), LSU’s Craig Davis (San Diego Chargers) and Super Bowl champion Jay Alford, who attended Penn State, and currently plays with the World Champion New York Giants.

Play It Smart builds on the positive peer influences of team sports and a participant's interest in football. The program's academic coaches are trained in a set of guiding principles and a variety of tactics, which are designed to make academic achievement the norm. Working closely with the direct support of a team's head coach and others in the community, academic coaches hold one-on-one goal setting meetings, career and life skills sessions, mandatory study halls, SAT/ACT prep classes, community service projects and other team building events.


ABOUT PLAY IT SMART
Play It Smart is an educational program established in 1998 by The National Football Foundation. The program's mission is to help student-athletes take responsibility for their futures through lessons learned on the playing field, in the classroom, and in service to others. At the heart of the program is a year-round academic coach, an official member of a team's staff, who serves as a direct link to the classroom by helping players and the team set and achieve their academic and personal development goals during the entire school year. Learn more at www.PlayItSmart.org.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE HALL OF FAME:
With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.