Freeport’s Ben Lane to patrol secondary for SRU
BUFFALO TWP — Ben Lane looked around and liked what he saw. On a recruiting trip to Slippery Rock University last fall, he was taken aback by the number of fans that filled the bleachers at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
The Freeport senior envisioned the jam-packed crowd cheering him on and, on Wednesday afternoon, took the next step toward realizing those hopes, signing his letter of intent to play for The Rock.
“I really chose SRU because the first time I was up there visiting and I felt the game atmosphere and stuff, it just felt like home and I could see myself playing there,” Lane said.
The aura around Slippery Rock’s home venue is unlike many at the Division II level, as The Rock’s head coach, Shawn Lutz, explained.
“I think it’s a mini Division I feel,” he said. “It’s definitely a home-field advantage and they get to see that. You go to some of these college games and they get more guys in high school than they do at the college games. When they see people tailgating like they do and they see these night games … it’s something they want to be a part of.
“It really helped that he got a chance to see our game day atmosphere and see how the opponent feels coming into our place. It’s definitely an intimidation factor.”
Lane had fielded offers from SRU, Clarion, Seton Hill, Fairmont State, and Notre Dame (Ohio) last summer as he attended a number of camps.
“He literally dominated our camp,” Lutz said. “He has all the measurables that you’re looking at and when we watched him do some one-on-one drills, he was just locking people down on defense … We saw him play prior, but it really woke us up when he was just dominating the level of competition.
“He can really do it all. He was our top guy right at the beginning.”
Lane rushed for 1,075 yards as the Yellowjackets’ top tailback in 2022, going for 10.5 yards per tote. He scored 21 touchdowns on the ground — along with both a passing and receiving score — and was awarded the Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy for his efforts.
The Rock inked three other running backs in this year’s recruiting crop and Lutz stressed that there was more of a need for Lane to play defensive back than in the offensive backfield. He didn’t rule out Lane also being used as a return guy, at least.
“I think they took me at defensive back because of my ability to move and read the offense,” Lane said. “I’m not just a pass defense kind of guy, I’ll come down and hit you in the run game, too.”
Freeport coach John Gaillot feels that Lane is a perfect fit for Slippery Rock.
“He really breaks hard on the ball,” Gaillot said. “He has great vision, sees everything developing in front of him. Just an all-around athlete with his closing speed. Plus, he’s not afraid to hit. He’ll come up and whack someone … He’s very comfortable there (in the secondary). He’s a student of the game. He’ll go over every aspect of every receiver that he’s going to be covering.”
“You get guys who are in the secondary that are good cover guys but don’t tackle that great,” Lutz added. “He’ll run right through you and hit you … He was not only in our backyard, but he was one of our best recruits that we got.”
Lane’s immediate goal is to compete to the best of his ability and find himself in the mix on the field. Lutz said that he has the skill set to get on the field next fall, but a year to adjust to the next level would benefit him, in that case.
“It’s a 50/50 chance,” said Lane, who wants to bulk up by about 20 pounds. “If I get redshirted, it’s not that big of a deal because I’ll have a whole year to get better … But if I do put it on and I have the opportunity to play as a true freshman, that would be great. I just have to work for it and earn my spot.”
He has loftier objectives for the whole of his time in green and white.
“My long-term goal over time is to become an All-American with four rings,” Lane said.
