Incarnate Word Offers Pleasant Grove’s Xavier Benson

The 16th offer rolled in for Pleasant Grove's Xavier Benson on Tuesday.

Incarnate Word is the latest school in the chase for the rising senior, who reported the Cardinals program's interest directly to ETSN.fm. Benson (6-0, 200) had no college options at the beginning of the year.

Pleasant Grove turned in a solid season in 2016 with Benson anchoring the defense at linebacker. The school reached the third round of the Class 4A Division II playoffs while Benson recorded a team second-best 89 tackles and tied for the team lead in takeaways with four.

Benson also caught nine passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns as a heavy receiver in Pleasant Grove's Wing-T formation.

Incarnate Word, which launched its football program in 2009 and joined the NCAA Division I FCS level in 2013, went 3-8 last season. Two losses came by one possession and a third defeat was by nine points, but the Cardinals closed the year on a high note with back-to-back wins in Southland Conference play.

Larry Kennan, who has been affiliated with the football coaching profession for 51 years, will guide the Cardinals for a sixth season this fall. He joined the program after 13 years as executive director of the NFL Coaches Association.

Kennan caught his first big break as offensive coordinator at UNLV, became SMU's offensive coordinator, served as Lamar's head coach from 1979 to 1981 and was a positional coach in the NFL from 1982 to 1997.

Landing Benson might be challenge for interested FCS schools. Of the 16 offers the linebacker possesses, 12 are from the NCAA Division I FBS level and an offer from Texas Tech gives the Pleasant Grove standout a chance to play within a power five conference.

Benson, like all college football prospects currently in their junior year of high school, will become eligible to sign with any program that offers him in December.