Big Ten Roundup (Aug. 15): Wisconsin's Keeanu Benton Stars in Steelers Debut, Zeke Elliott Signs with Patriots

Keeanu Benton, formerly a defensive tackle for coach Paul Chryst and the Wisconsin Badgers, showed out in his NFL preseason debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott signed with the New England Patriots to play for coach Bill Belichick.

Even as Wisconsin struggled during the final years of coach Paul Chryst's tenure, Keeanu Benton was superb every time he took the field. 

It was more of the same on Friday, as Benton wreaked havoc on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive line for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who selected him with the 49th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

Benton wasn't the only former Big Ten football player who made headlines this past week, though. Ohio State legend Ezekiel Elliott signed with the New England Patriots to play for coach Bill Belichick. Elliott spent the first seven seasons of his career playing for the Dallas Cowboys before being released by the team this offseason. 

Here's everything you need to know in today's Big Ten Roundup:

Keeanu Benton Dominates for Pittsburgh Steelers

It should not be legal for a rookie playing one of the most difficult positions in the NFL to look this unstoppable the very first time he ever sets foot on an NFL field. 

Keeanu Benton is a grown ass man pic.twitter.com/L6OzY5FVFp

— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) August 12, 2023

Both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Wisconsin Badgers have a long history of producing dominant defensive linemen, and Benton is the ideal player both teams have always wanted. 

During his four seasons in Madison, Benton racked up 9.0 sacks at the nose tackle position. He was also given an 83.4 PFF grade and finished with an elite 10.5% run-stop rate on his way to being named to the All-Big Ten second team by the Associated Press. 

As is the case for most interior defensive linemen, Benton's basic box score stats from his preseason debut do not jump off the page. The former Badger finished the game with three tackles and one tackle-for-loss, which he acquired by destroying the reach block of Tampa Bay's Cody Mauch (No. 69), as you can see in the tweet above. 

With the organization having spent significant draft capital to get him in the building, Benton should see meaningful snaps early in Pittsburgh. The NFL preseason is full of false promises and fake flashes, but for Benton, it couldn't have gone much better for him in his debut. 

Ezekiel Elliott Signs With New England Patriots

It's hard to believe it's almost been a full decade since Elliott rumbled his way through Alabama and Oregon in the first ever College Football Playoff to deliver Ohio State and coach Urban Meyer the 2014 national title. 

Ezekiel Elliott tweeted that he’s signing with the New England Patriots. pic.twitter.com/ZZNSm6ciYV

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 14, 2023

Even with as sharp as his recent drop-off has been, Elliott has had an outstanding career as an NFL running back. He led the league in rushing twice — both in his rookie season of 2016, and in 2018 — and his 8,262 career rushing yards are the second most of any active player behind only Derrick Henry. 

The Cowboys finally moved on from the Buckeye legend this offseason following another soul crushing playoff defeat, only for another legendary NFL franchise to scoop him up. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Elliott's contract with the Patriots includes $3 million in base salary, a $1 million signing bonus and can be worth up to $6 million if incentives are met. 

For more on the Patriots' signing of Elliott, check out the full story on our sister site Buckeyes Now. 

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