Benny Walls wants immediate impact at Temple
Benny Walls' relatives are proud of his athletic accomplishments, but it hasn't stopped them from razzing him for not pursuing the family's sport of choice.
Benny Walls' relatives are proud of his athletic accomplishments, but it hasn't stopped them from razzing him for not pursuing the family's sport of choice.
Walls, a hard-hitting senior safety at St. Joseph's Prep, is set to sign a letter of intent Wednesday with the Temple football team. It's a proud moment for the resident of Cinnaminson even if he didn't decide to play basketball in a hoops-mad family.
"My son was the outcast," his father, Ben Walls, said with a laugh. "To this day we tease him about not playing basketball."
Ben Walls, now a sergeant in the Camden police force, was the captain of a Camden basketball team that won the 1987 NJSIAA Group 4 state championship.
His brother, Kevin Walls, was one of the legendary players in South Jersey history. A two-time state champion at Camden, Kevin Walls averaged 44.8 points per game during his senior season in 1986 for a 31-0 Camden team that ended No. 1 in the nation.
One of Benny's uncles, Anthony Walls, played basketball and football for Woodrow Wilson. Another uncle, Curtis Walls, played basketball for Camden.
It's not that the 6-foot, 195-pound Benny Walls couldn't hoop it up. He played in middle school.
"We even won a championship," he said.
Yet the lure of football was too strong.
"I always liked the physical nature of the game," Benny Walls said. Then, laughing, he added, "My dad always told me he wished I played basketball."
Even the elder Walls admits his son made a good decision.
"I had to accept it that he wasn't going to pursue basketball," Ben Walls said. "But he has excelled at what he is doing, and we are extremely proud of him."
Benny Walls said that Rutgers, Syracuse and Boston College were among the other schools he was considering.
"I felt comfortable under Coaches Rhule, Snow, and Brown. I will get better as a player," he said, referring to head coach Matt Rhule, defensive coordinator Phil Snow and defensive backs coach Francis Brown.
St. Joseph's Prep coach Gabe Infante said that Walls will make his mark at Temple. Both the coach and the elder Walls said that Benny deserved more recruiting attention.
"They are getting a special player, a real steal," Infante said. "I thought he was a very good player who deserved more recruiting attention, and I think Temple is really going to benefit from having him."
His father agrees.
"My kid was under-recruited, and people are going to find out," Ben Walls said.
Even though Benny Walls excelled on defense, he also played running back. He earned all-Catholic League honors on both sides of the ball. Yet the biggest honor came from his father.
"In my opinion, and I don't want to build him up too much, but I think he is the best athlete in our family," Ben Walls said.
Now that is some distinction.
Here's another example of what his father meant.
"In Little League baseball, he was the best player, batted cleanup and did really well," Ben Walls said. "Any sport he did, he excelled."
That extends to track, in which Benny competes in the 400 meters, the 4x100 relay and the hurdles. He said that track has helped him greatly for football.
Walls began his high school career in South Jersey at Camden Catholic and transferred to St. Joe's Prep as a junior, where he was a major contributor to a state championship team in 2014.
He played varsity football for all four years.
And Walls, who began playing football at 5, isn't looking to ease into his college setting. He has a goal to be an immediate contributor at Temple.
@sjnard