Benny Snell Jr.

BIOGRAPHY

Benny Snell Jr. was born on February 26th, 1998, in Columbus, Ohio. He plays running back in the NFL.

In his early years, Snell Jr. attended Westerville Central High School where he was a three-star recruit who ranks in the top 50 running backs nationally by every major recruiting service. He was also rated as the No. 41 running back nationally. As a senior, Snell Jr. totaled 1,826 rushing yards, 264 yards receiving and 29 touchdowns, and also ran for 241 yards on 20 carries with three touchdowns in a single game. He was named OCC Cardinal Division Player of the Year and AP All-Central District Offensive Player of the Year, was a two-time first-team All-Central District and Division I All-Ohio and earned an invitation to the 2016 Ohio High Football Coaches Association North-South All-Star Classic. As a junior, Snell Jr. compiled 2,077 rushing yards, 291 receiving yards, and 28 touchdowns.

After he finished high school, Snell Jr. committed to the University of Kentucky where as a freshman in 2016, he was a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week, leading the freshman scorer in the SEC with 78 points. Snell Jr. set six UK freshman records, including most rushing touchdowns in a game with 4, most rushing yards by a freshman with 1,091, most rushing touchdowns by a freshman with 13, most total touchdowns by a freshman with 13, most 100-yard rushing games with 5 and most rushing yards by a freshman in a single game with 192. He finished the season with 1,091 rushing yards, which was a UK freshman record that ranked sixth on the UK single-season rushing list. Snell also became the first UK player with a rushing touchdown in three consecutive games since Derrick Locke in 2010 and became the first freshman in school history with 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in three consecutive games. Snell Jr. made his first career start against Georgia, rushing 21 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2017, Snell Jr. started in all 13 games and led the team in carries with 262, rushing yards with 1,333, rushing TDs with 19 and rushing yards per game with 102.5. He ended the regular season leading the SEC in rushing yards with 1,318 on a league-high 256 carries with an SEC-high 18 touchdowns. He is also only the third player in SEC history to have at least 2,424 yards and at least 31 career rushing touchdowns before his junior season, joining Georgia’s Herschel Walker and LSU’s Leonard Fournette, and is only SEC player since 2000 to have at least 116 rushing yards and at least three rushing TDs in three consecutive games. Snell Jr. first player in school history with at least five 100- yard rushing games in back-to-back seasons and is the first player in school history with 10 or more career 100-yard rushing games prior to his junior season. In his junior season in 2018, Snell Jr. was a second-Team All-America by Walter Camp Football Foundation, College Football News, USA Today, American Football Coaches Association, and Athlon, was a third-Team All-America by Associated Press and was a first-Team All-SEC by AP, Coaches, Athlon and ESPN. Snell Jr. rushed for 1,449 yards and 16 touchdowns in 13 games, helping lead UK to a 10-3 record, the team’s best regular season in 41 years since the 1977 team went 10-1. His 1,449 rushing yards rank second only behind Moe Williams’ 1,600 yards in 1995 in UK history in a single season and he was named MVP of the VRBO Citrus Bowl after rushing 26 times for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the 27-24 win.

After his junior season, Snell Jr. decided to forego his senior season and entered the 2019 NFL Draft where he was selected in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In Week 13 against the Cleveland Browns, Snell rushed 16 times for 63 yards and his first career rushing touchdown in the 20–13 win. In Week 17 against the Baltimore Ravens, Snell rushed 18 times for 91 yards and a touchdown during the 28–10 loss. As a rookie, Snell finished with 108 carries for 426 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Snell's first big breakthrough came on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants in Week 1 of the 2020 season after starter James Conner suffered an injury. He finished with 19 carries for 113 rushing yards as the Steelers won 26–16. In Week 15 against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, Snell recorded 107 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown during the 27–17 loss.

On August 10, 2023, Snell signed with the Detroit Lions.