Johnathan Bennett walked into The Citadel’s locker room earlier this week proudly wearing his Summerville High School football shirt.
Bennett’s choice of attire didn’t go unnoticed, especially by Bulldogs graduate wide receiver Dervon Pesnell, who played against the former Green Wave quarterback when Pesnell was a standout wide receiver at Berkeley High School.
“I was like, “OK, so that’s how it’s gonna be,’” said Pesnell, who caught eight passes for 76 yards for the Bulldogs last season. “If Johnathan is going to come in here like that, then I’m going to come back next week with my Berkeley shirt and rub it in his face.”
Bennett, who played parts of the last five seasons at Liberty University, transferred to The Citadel in January, giving the Bulldogs a veteran presence in the quarterback meeting room.
Bennett and his new teammates took part in the first ‘official’ spring practice on March 1 at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The Bulldogs' spring game is set for April 11 at Johnson Hagood Stadium beginning at 1 p.m.
Although he has been with The Citadel’s program for only a couple of months, Bennett is already making a major impact on his new teammates.
“First and foremost, Johnathan is a grown man,” said The Citadel football coach Maurice Drayton. “When you have a grown man in the locker room, you have a gentleman that our players can look up to. He’s a natural leader. He brings that to the table.
“He doesn’t say a whole lot, but he doesn’t have to. He leads by example, and we are excited to have him with us. He’s going to be a difference maker for us.”
Bennett, the 2018 Post and Courier All-Lowcountry co-Player of the Year, has strong ties to The Citadel’s coaching staff. Bennett played for Bulldogs assistant coach Joe Call while Call was the Green Wave’s head coach.
“You don’t want to come in and just bark at everyone,” Bennett said. “I just try to lead the best I can and show them that I’m a warrior like they are. We’re all here together working toward the same goal.”
Bennett threw for 1,927 yards and 17 touchdowns during his time with Liberty. His best campaign came in 2022, when he played in 12 games with the Flames, throwing for 1,534 yards and 12 TDs. Bennett led the Flames to victories over BYU and Arkansas during that stretch.
Rain falls down on the The Citadel football team during practice at Johnson Hagood Stadium on Friday March 1, 2024, in Charleston.
“It’s a dream come true to come back to the Charleston area and play in front of my family and friends,” Bennett said. “They don’t have to drive six hours to come see me play, they can get here in 20 minutes, now. It’s the start of a journey for me and one I’m really excited about.”
The Citadel’s offense was in dire need of an injection of energy, and Drayton and the coaching staff are hoping that Bennett will be an answer.
“He’s a winner and he’s won on big stages during his career,” Drayton said. “When you bring in someone that knows how to win, it’s contagious. Winning is more than physical attributes. Winning is doing the right things not one day, not two days, it’s all the time and he brings that to the table. Getting someone like that is very important for us.”
A year ago, The Citadel transitioned from a traditional triple-option attack to one with more passing and spread formations. The Bulldogs were one of the least productive offenses in the Southern Conference in 2023.
The Bulldogs, who had their first 0-11 season in program history in 2023, ranked ninth in scoring offense (11.0 ppg) and eighth in total offense, averaging just 260 yards a game.
“It’s similar to what we ran at Liberty last year, so I’m comfortable with the reads and play calls,” Bennett said. “I think this offense will allow us to use the athletic ability of people in the backfield and allow us to take shots down the field.”
Drayton emphasized that Bennett hasn’t won the starting quarterback job yet. Bennett will be competing against returners Graeson Underwood, Dustin Fletcher and Varney Layman to become QB1. Underwood threw for more than 1,200 yards and five touchdowns last season, while Fletcher missed most of the year with a concussion.
“Don’t forget about Dustin and Greason, those guys are working their rear ends off,” Drayton said. “Nothing is given, Johnathan knows he’s going to have earn his playing time.”
The two former high school rivals, Pesnell and Bennett, are glad they are working toward a common goal these days, although the old days are not too far from their minds. Pesnell likes to remind Bennett that he was 2-1 against the Green Wave while Bennett was at Summerville.
“He’s got me on the record, but I remind Dervon that I ended his high school career,” Bennett said with a laugh. “We beat Berkeley in the playoffs, so I’ll always have that on him.”
