Benny Snell Jr. took a blue-collar approach to becoming one of the best running backs in the country. The star junior plays with passion and doesn't give away a single play, fighting for every yard, relishing contact and giving everything for his team.
Season Stats
- 1,449 rushing yards
- 16 rushing touchdowns
Snell doesn't just pile up stats. He helps his team win.
After he didn't play the first two games of his freshman year -- both Kentucky losses -- Snell has become a crucial part of the Kentucky offense, starting with a 136-yard, four-touchdown performance in his very first action and never looking back.
With Snell in the backfield, UK has won 23 of 36 games and reached bowl eligibility in three straight seasons. As a junior, Snell led the Wildcats to a 10-3 record, their best regular season, first winning SEC record in 41 years and a VRBO Citrus Bowl championship.
Snell has a habit of playing his best games in UK's biggest victories. In the Wildcats' two wins over ranked SEC opponents -- No. 25 Florida on the road and No. 14 Mississippi State at home -- Snell has carried 52 times for 340 yards and four touchdowns.
Snell also carried a heavy load as UK won a hard-fought 14-7 game vs. Vanderbilt, running 32 times for 169 yards. He scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, account for 74 yards on UK's 80-yard game-winning drive.
To close out his UK career, Snell delivered a performance that perfectly encapsulated his impact on the program. He piled up 144 rushing yards and two touchdowns in becoming VRBO Citrus Bowl Most Valuable Player, the last score making him the all-time leading rusher in Kentucky history. His final eight carries were his biggest though, as he picked up two crucial first downs to run all but nine seconds off the game's final 4:12 to end a valiant comeback effort by Penn State.
Career Stats
- 3,873 career rushing yards (school record)
- 19 career 100-yard games (school record)
- 48 total touchdowns, breaking Randall Cobb's UK record
- Set the school record for points in a season with 116 in 2017
- Set the school record for touchdowns in a season with 19 in 2017
- One of only two players in SEC history to rush for at least 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns in his first three seasons, joining Herschel Walker
- Ranks third in SEC history in career rushing touchdowns
- First-Team All-SEC (AP, coaches)
- Midseason All-American
- Maxwell Award Semifinalist
- Doak Walker Award Semifinalist