Eight former ASU players made NFL rosters to start the 2020 season after the 53-man roster cut deadline this past Saturday and with the season beginning Thursday.
One of those eight will be suiting up just miles away from Tempe in Glendale for the Arizona Cardinals.
Running back Eno Benjamin, who was selected by the Cardinals with the 222nd overall pick in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft, successfully nabbed the third and final running back spot on the team's depth chart.
"Everything as far as getting on the field I think starts with special teams," Benjamin said to reporters in a Zoom conference Sunday. "I got to earn their trust."
Benjamin successfully beat out former Sun Devil D.J. Foster and undrafted rookie Jonathan Ward for the last running back spot on the roster.
"Rookies came in with not a lot of opportunities to show what they had," Benjamin said. "I think that I was able to do with just enough."
Benjamin finished his career at ASU with 2,867 rushing yards, the seventh-most in program history.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the 25th pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, joins Benjamin as the only other 2020 ASU draftee to make a roster this season. Aiyuk compiled 65 receptions for 1,192 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in his final season in Tempe.
Wide receiver N’Keal Harry and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy return to the New England Patriots in 2020. Harry finished his Sun Devil career with consecutive seasons having over 1,000 receiving yards.
As a rookie in 2019 with the Patriots, Harry collected 12 receptions for 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns in seven games. His role this season will likely be much larger after the departure of receivers Mohamed Sanu and Josh Gordon.
Guy is returning for his ninth season. During his three years as a Sun Devil, he amassed 122 career tackles and eight career sacks in 35 games.
Kicker Zane Gonzalez joins Benjamin in Arizona for his second full season with the team. In four seasons at ASU, Gonzalez went 96-for-116 on field goal attempts. Last season with Arizona, he held the eighth-best field goal percentage in the NFL at 88.6%.
Offensive lineman Jamil Douglas (Tennessee Titans), punter Matt Haack (Miami Dolphins), and defensive lineman Renell Wren (Cincinnati Bengals) also made an NFL 53-man roster for the start of the season.
Multiple former ASU players made NFL practice squads, including Foster, offensive tackle Quinn Bailey, center Cohl Cabral, tight end Tommy Hudson, cornerback Kareem Orr and quarterback Bryce Perkins.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 12:52 p.m. to include a new header image.
Reach the reporter at cabradl4@asu.edu and follow @colebradley01 on Twitter.
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