Duane Bennett

Class:
Freshman
Position:
RB
Hometown:
St. Louis, Mo.
High School:
O'Fallon Township

2011? SENIOR SEASON:
Started all 12 games at running back ? finished Gopher career with 2,126 rushing yards, which ranks him 13^th all-time in Minnesota history ? finished 2011 season with 166 carries for 639 yards and three touchdowns ? recorded three receptions for 23 yards ? rushed 23 times for season-high 127 yards at Northwestern in Week 11 ? named the Kickoff Returner of the Week by College Football Performance Awards for his 96-yard kickoff return for a TD vs. Wisconsin in Week 10? earned fourth varsity letter.

Game-by-Game: 15 carries for 56 yards and Minnesota's only rushing touchdown in season-opener at USC (9/3) ? ran nine times for 25 yards vs. New Mexico State (9/10) ? seven rushes for 12 yards in win over Miami (Ohio) (9/17) ? blocked a punt and returned it four yards for a touchdown vs. the Red Hawks, earning Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors ? rushed 13 times for 74 yards against North Dakota State (9/24) ? carried the ball nine times for 33 yards at Michigan (10/1) ? 15 carries for 53 yards at Purdue (10/8) ? 12 rushes for 55 yards and one TD vs. Nebraska (10/22) ? had 20 carries for 101 yards and one score vs. Iowa (10/29) ? 13 carries for 42 yards at Michigan State (11/5) ? 19 rushes for 68 yards vs. Wisconsin (11/12) ? returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown vs. the Badgers ? toted pigskin 23 times for season-high 127 yards at Northwestern (11/19) ? 23 carries for 57 yards vs. Illinois (11/26).

2010 ? JUNIOR SEASON:
Appeared in all 12 games and started seven this year at running back? led Minnesota with 996 all-purpose yards in 2010 ? 529 rushing yards on 123 carries including three touchdowns ? also hauled in 33 receptions for 319 yards and one touchdown ? threw for one touchdown ? returned nine kicks for a total of 148 yards in 2010 ? earned third varsity letter.

Game-by-Game: Posted game and career highs in carries (30) and rushing yards (189) against Middle Tennessee State (9/2) ? Also hauled in three receptions for eight yards to finish the game with 197total yards of offense. ? led the Gophers ground game to its highest production in three years (306 yards against Miami-Ohio, 9/8/07) ? tallied second-career 100-yard game (106 yards against Michigan in 2007) and became Minnesota's first 100- yard rusher since DeLeon Eskridge ran for 124 against Illinois in 2008 ? Bennett's 30 carries and 189 rushing yards were the most by a Gopher since Amir Pinnix carried the ball 34 times for 206 yards against Texas Tech in the 2006 Insight Bowl ? ran for 110 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns against South Dakota (9/11) ? became the first Gopher to rush for 100 yards in back-to-back games since Amir Pinnix in 2007 ? also caught one pass for 12 yards against the Coyotes ? carried the ball seven times for eight yards against USC (9/18) ? had 24 carries for 78 yards against Northern Illinois (9/25) ? also made three catches for 28 yards against the Huskies ? racked up 29 net yards on the ground against Northwestern (10/2) on 12 carries while also throwing an eight-yard touchdown to Eric Lair in the second quarter for Bennett's first career passing touchdown ? also caught one pass for a 38-yard touchdown in the first quarter against the Wildcats ? caught one pass for 34 yards against Wisconsin (10/9) while also gaining two net yards on three carries ? also returned one kick for a three-yard gain against the Badgers ? gained 30 yards on five carries against Purdue (10/16) while also making three catches, losing three yards ? gained 12 yards on five carries against Penn State( 10/23) while also making five catches for 71 yards and returning three kicks for 66 yards ? caught two passes for six yards against Ohio State (10/30) while also returning one kick for 30 yards ? led the Gophers receivers with seven catches for 57 yards against Michigan State (11/6) ? also had two carries for 12 net yards against the Spartans ? caught five passes for 47 yards and added another 10 net yards on the ground against Illinois (11/13) ? contributed 86 all-purpose yards in Minnesota's win over Iowa (11/27) ? carried the ball 11 for 63 net yards including one touchdown run while also making two catches for 23 yards ? also completed one pass for a two-yard gain against the Hawkeyes.

2009 ? SOPHOMORE SEASON:
returned from season-ending knee injury in 2008 to be the Gophers' leading rusher in 2009, compiling 376 yards on 98 carries (3.8 avg), with six touchdowns ? also a threat in the passing game, he caught 16 passes for 194 yards (12.1 avg) and two scores ? carried the ball a team-high 98 times on the season ? collected a season high 89 yards against Northwestern ? recorded six of the Gophers' 13 rushing touchdowns this season ? had a career day in the passing game against Michigan State, catching two passes, each for touchdowns, and tallying a career-high 121 receiving yards ? finished the season sixth on the Gopher receiving charts with 172 yards on the season ? earned second varsity letter. Game-by-Game: In the 23-20 OT win over Syracuse (9/5), led the Golden Gophers in rushing with 78 yards on 16 carries ? scored the first touchdown of the game against the Orange on a 16-yard run, which was the first time he touched the ball in a game since returning from his 2008 knee injury ? rushed seven times for 78 yards in the 20-13 win over Air Force (9/12), while also catching two passes for ? in the 35-21 loss to No. 8 Cal (9/19), carried the ball seven times for 16 yards and caught one pass ? in the 35-24 win at Northwestern, rushed for a game-high 89 yards and three touchdowns ? in the 31-28 loss to Wisconsin (10/3), rushed two times for 20 yards, including a 19-yard burst ? also against Wisconsin, scored his fifth touchdown of the season on a one-yard plunge ? in the 35-20 win over Purdue (10/10) rushed nine times for 53 yards, including a season-long run of 29 yards ? in the 20-0 loss at No. 14 Penn State (10/20), caught three passes for 18 yards ? in the 38-7 loss to No. 18 Ohio State (10/24), rushed four times for 14 yards and caught one pass for seven yards ? in the 42-34 win over Michigan State (10/31), had a career-best game receiving with 121 yards and two touchdowns on two receptions, to go along with his 36 yards rushing and one touchdown on 14 carries ? in the 35-32 loss to Illinois (11/7), rushed four times for 15 yards and caught one pass for a nine-yard gain ? in the 16-13 win over South Dakota State (11/14), carried the ball six times for 14 yards and returned three kickoffs for 27 yards ? caught two passes for 13 yards in the 14-13 Insight Bowl loss to Iowa State (12/31).

2008 ? REDSHIRT SEASON:
Granted redshirt after sustaining knee injury in second game ? entered the season as one of the Big Ten's top young running backs ? suffered a season-ending knee injury on a screen pass in the second game of the year at Bowling Green ? had started the first two games of the season and was the Gophers' leading rusher with 32 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns at the time of the injury ? had also hauled in 12 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown and at the time, ranking second on the team in both catches and receiving yards per game ? earned second letter. Game-by-Game: rushed 18 times for 92 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener vs. Northern Illinois (8/30) ? scored on runs of 61 yards and 1 yard against the Huskies ? the 1-yard TD run was scored with 22 second to play and proved to be the game-winner ? had a strong game at Bowling Green (9/6) before going down with the injury ? totaled 48 yards on 14 rushes and had a career-high eight receptions for 100 yards, including a 34-yards touchdown grab.

2007 ? FRESHMAN SEASON:
Earned Freshman All-Big Ten honors from The Sporting News ? appeared in 10 of 12 games ? the Gophers' starting running back in seven contests ? made six of his seven starts during Big Ten play ? earned his first career start against Big Ten champion Ohio State (9/29) ? finished the year ranked second on the team in carries (107) and third on the squad in both rushing yards (442) and rushing touchdowns (3) ? compiled 370 of his rushing yards in Big Ten games to rank second in the conference among freshmen in rushing yards during conference play ? led all Minnesota running backs with 18 receptions for 145 yards ? his 18 receptions are the most by a Gopher running back since Tellis Redmon had 32 in 2000 ? also had a receiving touchdown and ranked sixth on the team in scoring with 24 points ? earned his first letter ? Game-by-Game: had one carry for six yards and one reception for six yards in the season opener vs. Bowling Green (9/1) ? totaled 34 yards on five carries and had a two-yard catch against Miami (Ohio) (9/8) ? came off the bench to rush for 81 yards on seven attempts, including a season-long rush of 44 yards, in his first career Big Ten game vs. Purdue (9/22) ? also scored his first career touchdown on a four-yard run against the Boilermakers ? gained 34 yards on 16 carries and had a season-high four receptions for 39 yards vs. Ohio State (9/29) ? had eight carries for 28 yards, including a one-yard touchdown plunge, at Indiana (10/6) ? rushed eight times for 31 yards and hauled in three receptions for a season-high 71 yards against North Dakota State (10/20) ? also had a 32-yard touchdown catch to go along with a season-long 35 yard reception vs. the Bison ? logged his first career 100-yard rushing game and set season-high rushing marks at Michigan (10/27) with 106 yards on 20 carries, including a 20-yard run ? became the first true freshman at Minnesota to rush for 100 yards since Laurence Maroney in 2003 ? also had three catches for nine yards against the Wolverines ? rushed 12 times for 35 yards against Illinois (11/3) ? had 49 yards rushing on 18 carries and three receptions for 23 yards at Iowa (11/10) ? rushed 12 times for 37 yards and had a two-yard touchdown run in the season-finale vs. Wisconsin (11/17).

HIGH?SCHOOL:
A 2007 graduate of O'Fallon Township High School (Ill.) ? high school coach was Todd Moeller ? named to the PrepStar Midwest Region Team ? the 135th-ranked running back in the nation by ESPN.com ? finished his senior season with 1,362 yards and 22 touchdowns ? totaled 993 yards rushing on 112 carries with 12 touchdowns his junior year ? concluded his career with 443 carries for 3,419 yards and 40 scores.

PERSONAL:
Son of Daryl Bennett and Chantya Floyd ? first name is pronounced DOO-on ? born June 11, 1989 ? sociology major.