Benedict’s close-knit offensive line a key part of Tigers’ perfect start to season

Chances are, if you see one Benedict College offensive lineman you’ll see them all.

“We do pretty much everything together,” redshirt junior center Mitchell Romig said. “We go out to eat at a local restaurant at least once a week. We do other things, in addition to what we do as players.”

While offensive line coach Roscoe Byrd admits he and the coaching staff try to foster team bonding, his group became close organically.

“They did that on their own,” Byrd said. “Things like that just happen. We talk about things, try to give them ideas of some things I did as a player, but they just started to go out to eat. They do Bible study. That builds trust and chemistry when you do things outside of your coaches.”

The line has become an integral part of the Tigers’ success. Entering Saturday’s 2 p.m. road game against SIAC opponent Morehouse, they own a 7-0 overall and 4-0 league mark.

That has led to a national ranking of 17th in the D2football.com media poll and 18th in the AFCA poll.

Offensively, the team is averaging 32.14 points per game, rushing for 165 yards and passing for 196.43.

The group has managed to mesh despite not having the luxury of entering the program together, as several are transfers and one is a freshman.

Romig has been in the program for two years after beginning his college career at Presbyterian College. He is joined by grad students Tyler Pritchett, Henry Mitchell and Maurice Campbell. Freshman Roger “Big Baby” Smith rounds out the unit.

Although difficult to bring in several transfers and get cohesion on the offensive line, Byrd appears to be making it happen.

“Those guys have been a welcome addition to our program,” Benedict coach Chennis Berry said. “They’ve really started to jell. It takes time for offensive linemen to jell. They call themselves the fist. That’s five coming together as one. They’ve really bonded through the process.

“They continue to grow. They continue to progress. They are night and day better than what we had in the past when it comes to the explosiveness they’ve displayed this season.”

The line is looking to make significant improvement, despite its impressive play so far. The friendships that have been formed should not be undersold as a reason for the early success.

“It’s really like a family-type atmosphere,” said Mitchell, who entered Benedict as a transfer from Langston College. “They accepted me for who I am and we just meshed together.”

While the Tigers are undefeated, the record has not been accomplished without challenges. The team was pushed to the limit in its most recent game, a road encounter against Albany State that it won 24-20.

“It’s always good to have lessons during a win,” Byrd said. “If you go out there and blow people out, you can say some things, but they may not listen. When you’ve had some struggles, some adversity, that is big for our morale. We already know we’ve been there before. We’ve been pushed.

“They understand you’re always one or two plays away from things going the other way. We keep believing in them. They keep believing in the program and we keep going in the program — keep going 1-0.”

There is a lot of experience even though the group has transfers. That was important to Smith, a Cleveland native entering as a freshman.

“When I first got here, I really didn’t speak to anyone,” Smith said. “When it got to the season, I progressed to fitting in with everyone. I’m quieter because I guess it’s in my genes. It was really a work in progress. I was messing up so many times. Then the coaches kept on me until they got me where I was better.”

The 6-4, 315-pounder has been a valuable piece of the Benedict offensive line puzzle.

The unit has bought into the mindset instilled by Berry and the coaching staff.

“We just try to keep them in the moment,” Berry said. “It goes back to a book we read ‘Chop Wood Carry Water.’ Just enjoy the journey. Don’t worry about the end goal.

“The mindset doesn’t change. It’s going to be 1-0 every day. We don’t even know our overall record. If you ask those guys they probably don’t know our overall record because we all preach 1-0. Let’s be the best we can be every day.”

“1-0, 1-0,” added Byrd. “Can’t worry about what you’ve done. We have to keep to the task at hand. We’ve got Morehouse Saturday. We can’t worry about the wins we’ve had. It doesn’t matter.”

This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 1:34 PM.