Ben Cleveland is a monster of a man.
A mammoth human, a gargantuan person. That sounds hyperbolic, but there aren’t too many offensive linemen built like him. He’s 6-foot-6 and weighed in at 354 pounds at the Senior Bowl, although he claims he’s recently dropped some pounds. Even so, he carries the weight extremely well, with seemingly zero fat protruding from his midsection.
His muscular build caused NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah, in a podcast with Jim Donnan and Dayne Young, to quip that Cleveland may have a future as a professional wrestler at some point in the future.
“I don’t know how this kid has not been recruited to the WWE already,” Jeremiah said. “Whenever his football career is over, he has a wrestling career lined up. He's massive. You see the dimensions. You have an idea of what his body composition is going to look like. Then you go down there and see him in person. This dude is not fat. He's a piece of mass. I like him.”
At Georgia’s pro day next week, this piece of mass is hoping to do something that no other prospect has done before. In a draft diary for the Athens Banner-Herald, Cleveland said he wants to bench press 225 pounds 50 times. The NFL scouting combine record is 49, which was set by Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea in 2011. Of course, there's no on-site combine this year, so each program’s pro day is a part of the 2021 combine process.
On the UGASports Live podcast the next day, Donnan revealed this is actually something those inside the program have spoken about for quite some time. There’s a genuine belief that Cleveland might actually have a shot at the record.
“There’s a murmur over there that Ben is going for that 50,” Donnan said. “They were talking about that back in the summer. He’s certainly capable of it with his explosive strength, and he has the arms to handle it. At the end, your arms start wearing out a little bit. That’s just incredible that a guy could do 50 at 225 pounds that many times. It’ll show out his explosiveness.”
That would be nothing short of remarkable. Getting to 30 reps is an amazing achievement. If Cleveland hits the 50 mark, it will certainly open a lot of NFL teams’ eyes even further.
Cleveland was a former five-star prospect when he committed with the 2016 recruiting class. Up until the 2020 season, Cleveland’s tenure at Georgia had been a mixed bag. Returning for his fifth season turned out to be a great decision, as Donnan noted how consistent he was up front all season long.
“He was the one guy all year who just played all the time,” Donnan said. “[Trey] Hill had some issues; we had a lot of different guys who were up and down. I’ve always liked Ben and felt he was a good player. I think this year really helped him.”
Jeremiah believes Cleveland will be a mid-round selection in this year’s draft.
“I think the gap scheme teams are going to like him more than zone scheme teams,” Jeremiah said. “He has real knock-off power. In the run game, I thought his pad level was good. You often see him displace guys. In pass protection, being that height inside, he can be a little tall or narrow at times. That can give him some issues at times. Some of the redirect stuff is going to be a challenge. I think he's probably going to find his way into the fourth-round range.”
