[2024] NIU Insider: A Sit Down With Daniel Bennett

[Ape]

 

Dekalb, IL

Welcome back to NIU Insider, your #1 source of NIU Football news and rumors. Today we have a sit down interview with Freshman Punter Daniel Bennett. We spoke to Daniel about a wide variety of topics and hope everyone will get to know our new starting punter some more. 
 

NIU Insiders: So Daniel how has the adjustment to life on campus been? 
 

DB: It’s going well. I’m staying Grant with Juan Vega (Freshman QB) and we’re getting along really well. A lot of late night Call of Duty.

NIU Insiders: Tell us about your training regime? 
 

DB: Coach Ape wants me to build up my strength so everyday is leg day. He keeps joking “you can’t skip leg day.” But honestly I expected this when I came here knowing I’d be starting right away. 
 

NIU Insiders: And starting right away, are you feeling any pressure? 
 

DB: No everyone around the program has made my transition to campus so smooth I felt right at home. Now when it comes to our first game I might feel some anxiety creep in, but for now I’m feeling good and having a good time with my team. 
 

NIU Insiders: We see you’re going for Art Education as your major, want to enlighten us on that? 
 

DB: Well I was planning on going for Paleontology until my advisor told me NIU doesn’t have that, real bummer. So I decided being an art teacher would be kind of fun. I got a B in art in 8th grade so I figured why not. 
 

NIU Insiders: Riveting, who is your punting idol? 
 

DB: Honestly, no one. I just play Punter because it’s what got me on the team in high school. My idol really is Sun Tzu. I love The Art of War, it really applies to Punting. 
 

NIU Insiders: Do you want to elaborate on that? 
 

DB: No

NIU Insiders: Alright, Moving on how do you think the Huskies will do this year? 
 

DB: I think we’ll be good. Maybe 8 wins, hopefully a sweet bowl location with a good swag package for us. Hoping for a PS5.

 

NIU Insiders: We heard you’re also trying to start an eGaming team at NIU, tell us about that? 
 

DB: Oh sure I heard that Illinois State has had one for a few years and I said why not us? A couple other of the freshmen on the team like Alexander Costa and Pete Flores are pretty good too. We’re working with the university right now on funding and space issues but we’re hoping to get it going before the end of the semester. 
 

NIU Insiders: We heard that you got some NIL deals already want to tell us about that? 
 

DB: Oh sure it’s really not much. The Egyptian Theater gave me a season pass and $500 to help promote it around campus and take some photos. I got another $500 for taking some promo shots for All Sport. I’m working on a couple gaming ones right now too.

 

NIU Insiders: Well Daniel this has been wonderful, anything else you want to say to the fans? 
 

DB: Not really. 
 

There you have it folks our first interview with someone in Coach Ape’s freshmen class. It was… enlightening. We’re hoping to bring you some more content like this before the season starts rolling. We know Coach Ape has been working hard on sorting out the depth chart and looking towards the future with the new recruiting class coming into focus. We will be the first to break news on those fronts if there is any.