Behind The Uniform with Rayshaun Benny: Healthy, bigger, stronger, & ready to break out for Michigan

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4.6 • 855 Ratings

🗓️ 22 August 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Behind the Uniform - Season 3 - we feature senior defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny. The former Oak Park high standout reflects upon his career to this point, including his recovery from a major knee injury in the Rose Bowl during Michigan's run to the national championship. Benny recounts his grueling rehab and the time it took for him to return to pre-injury form, and the performances he and his teammates put on en route to beating Ohio State and Alabama last year. The conversation then shifts to heightened expectations for his level of play this season, how he's embracing them, and his belief that the defense won't suffer any drop-off in performance due to the improvements he and several others have made. Benny specifically praises the depth of the defensive line, including new transfers Tre' Williams and Damon Payne. He also shares insights from the "Playbook for Prosperity" seminar with the University of Michigan Credit Union stressing the importance of budgeting, and David Himich from The Himich Group at Morgan Stanley on long-term financial planning. The interview concludes with Benny sharing his impressions of Bryce Underwood and looking ahead to what he expects to be another year of stellar Michigan defense.

Transcript

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0:00.0	And we are back folks for another edition of Behind the Uniform. This is where we take you inside the playing careers of the guys who wear the uniform for the Maze in Blue, but we also tell you who they are
0:25.1	away from the field of play, who they are when they aren't wearing the winged helmet.
0:29.9	And joining us today is one of the young men who I've known the longest for the Wolverines,
0:35.3	the pride of Oak Park High School. My man, my guy, Ray Sean,
0:40.1	Benny. Ray Sean, how you doing, man? I'm doing, bet. I'm doing good. How you doing? I'm doing great,
0:45.3	man. It's good to see you. Been a pleasure to watch you go and grow over the course of your high
0:52.6	school and now your college career been anxiously
0:54.8	anticipating this moment because it's your time to shine young brothers so yeah man so i'm i'm
1:01.9	excited uh for the people to see you but i'm i'm excited for the nation to see you do your thing
1:08.3	so first and foremost man that that's wanted to say that but let's go back to the beginning of the journey, man. Oak Park, Oak Park, where it all started when you were back on your grind, back there playing for Coach Carter, man. Did you imagine it would be like this? Nah, never. To be honest, that wasn't even my goal with playing football. It just happened, you know, and I ran with it.
1:30.3	Yeah, well, you ran with it and turned it into something special. One of the best defensive tackles in the country.
1:39.0	That's how you were looked at, projected anyway, heading into this season. A lot of expectations being heaped upon you,
1:47.0	man, is that pressure or is that something that you look to or those expectations that you look to
1:54.5	as motivation? How do you see that? For me, I take it. I welcome it. You know, I've been new the abilities I had.
2:02.6	My teammates, my coaches, everybody kind of knew what I can do.
2:06.5	It's just we had a whole lot of guys that can do, you know, a lot of good things.
2:10.1	So it just wasn't my time at that point, you know.
2:13.0	So now it's my time.
2:14.8	So I'm ready to show the nation what's going on because you know because at
2:18.8	michigan you guys you have turned out turned out big time defensive linemen year after year after
2:26.9	year first round second round third round picks everything so if you aren't playing uh a primetime
2:33.5	row it's not because you can't play, right?
	...

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