(This is the fourth in a series on Tennessee football payers whose dads played in the NFL)
By Jimmy Hyams
When you talk about the greatest ever to play at Alabama, linebacker Cornelius Bennett is in the conversation.
Bennett was one of only two Crimson Tide players to make three-time All-American. He was seventh in the Heisman Trophy race as a defensive player in 1986. He was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1987 NFL draft, the highest ever by a Bama player. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
In the NFL, Bennett was a five-time Pro Bowler, played in five Super Bowls, was a two-time AFC Defensive Player of the Year, made the Buffalo Bills All-50th anniversary team and made the NFL’s All-Decade team in the 1990s.
So you would think if he had a son that was SEC caliber, he would go to Alabama, right?
Not so fast.
Kivon Bennett, a defensive tackle from St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., actually picked one of Alabama’s most heated rivals, Tennessee. Kivon wasn’t a hot target for Alabama and the son felt Rocky Top was a better fit.
“It wasn’t really that much of a discussion, to be honest,’’ Kivon said. “He never really had anything to say about it. He was just glad I got the opportunity here to get a scholarship and it was the best fit for me. He understood that. So he was just happy for me. That’s it.’’
Growing up with an NFL dad had its benefits.
“It’s just a great tool to have a father with so much experience,’’ Kivon said. “It’s just crazy to have that much knowledge at any time.
“If something happens in practice and I need some help, I can call and he can give me stuff, maybe some NFL stuff, that some guys may not know. Other kids don’t have that opportunity to access that kind of information all the time. I can call him whenever I want and ask him whatever kind of questions I need to.’’
But when Kivon was younger, he said it was harder to embrace having a famous NFL dad. That’s when he first heard the comparisons.
“People started calling me `biscuit,’’’ Kivon said of his dad’s nickname. “And I didn’t really like it when I was younger. I didn’t want to wear No. 97 (Cornelius’ number). When I was younger I wanted to be my own person cause everyone was always talking like, `Oh, he be like biscuit, he be like Cornelius.’
“So it was tougher when I was younger. But as I got older, I just kind of embraced it. It was just like, well, instead of always trying to fight it, just embrace it because he is one the greatest.’’
How Corenlius got the nickname `biscuit’ is debatable, but one version is that when he ate, he always had room for one more biscuit.
Cornelius was a three-sport athlete out of Birmingham: football, basketball, baseball.
Kivon tried all three. His least favorite: baseball. His favorite: basketball. He started playing when he was four.
“That’s really what I thought was going to be my sport,’’ Kivon said.
He didn’t start playing tackle football until the fifth grade.
“In South Florida,’’ Kivon said, “football is like a religion. Most kids start playing Pee Wee when they’re six.’’
Kivon said his dad never pushed him to play football.
“His main thing was, he didn’t want to force me into something I didn’t want to do, and then me end up resenting him later,’’ Kivon said. “He always made sure I was comfortable with whatever I was doing.’’
Kivon was comfortable winning three straight state titles at St. Thomas Aquinas.
On the other hand, Cornelius played in five Super Bowls – four in a row with the Bills – without winning an NFL title.
Kivon said he doesn’t rub it in that he has three state titles and his dad fell short in the pros.
“That’s such a great accomplishment to even reach the Super Bowl five times, even if they didn’t win,’’ Kivon said. “That just shows you how great of a team they were. That’s how I always looked at it, rather than he didn’t win. It was more like, he went and they competed.’’
Kivon said his dad never expressed sorrow at not taking home a Super Bowl ring.
“My dad’s not one of those guys that has regrets,’’ Kivon said. “He’s just more glad that he accomplished what he did instead of thinking about what he didn’t.’’
Kivon said he grew up an NFL fan, favoring the Bills and the Falcons – the two teams for whom his dad played. When he watched college ball, he watched Alabama.
“Growing up,’’ Kivon said. “I always thought I would wind up playing for Alabama. But when it came down to it in recruiting, you realize you can’t always play for who you like growing up and that you have to go to where you best fit, and that was here.’’
Kivon Bennett is one of six players on the Tennessee team whose dads played in the NFL. One is Baylen Buchanan, whose dad, Ray, played with Cornelius Bennett in Atlanta.
“It’s a lot more pressure when you’re younger,’’ Kivon said of having an NFL dad. “But I think at the end of the day, it motivates us to go and prove the haters wrong and some people saying you’re not going to be as good as your dad and this, that and the other. So, I mean, it’s just motivation.’’
Kivon is highly motivated. He said his goals this year are to make Freshman All-American and the SEC All-Freshman team.
His other goal: “To get to the NFL. I would like to leave (college) in three (years). But if that doesn’t happen … I mean wherever this takes me, I am going to be happy, regardless. And my goal ultimately, whether it be in three or four years, is the NFL.’’
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