Eno Benjamin takes things one step at a time.

When you talk to him, he’s a pretty level-headed guy. He’s never really gotten too high or low in a game setting, except maybe his emphatic touchdown celebration down in Tucson back in November.

So, when it came to his thoughts on the spring session that just wrapped up with Thursday night’s Maroon and Gold practice, his answer wasn’t particularly emotionally-charged.

“It’s been pretty good,” he said. “I finished healthy, and so I couldn’t ask for much more.”

Then again, Benjamin’s play has spoken for itself over the last 12 months.

This time a year ago, there was still pressure revolving around Benjamin’s spring. How was he going to replace Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage? Was the starting job truly his to lose?

Granted, at that time there wasn’t much of a sample size of Benjamin’s potential at ASU. As a freshman, Benjamin displayed flashes of greatness in a 52-yard outing in a win over Colorado, but he’d, reasonably, seen little time on the field behind two talented seniors on the depth chart.

“There were always the people like, ‘How are we going to do this without Demario, Kalen, it’s been them for so long,’” he said. “Going out there, I felt like there was a lot of weight on my shoulders last spring.”

The answers, a year later, are abundantly clear; Benjamin’s 1,642-yard, 18-score, 300-carry sophomore season left little doubt. Not only is he the clear-cut starter, he’s arguably one of the best backs in the country.

So this spring’s felt a little different for the rising junior.

“I wouldn’t say, weight off my shoulders, but, there’s weight off my shoulders,” he said. “This spring, it’s really about doing what I can to help the people behind me be successful, because when their times come… I want them to be ready, I want to see this team succeed.”

The emphasis, now, is on the little things — essentially, fine-tuning an already well-oiled machine.

“Really, I just feel like the small details,” he said. “Being decisive when to break my route off, and running routes, that aspect, stuff like that.”

Even for a back with top-five yardage nationally, there’s always something to improve on, and for Benjamin, that’s been his involvement in the Sun Devils’ aerial attack.

At least, that’s where he’s said Herm Edwards wants to see him continue to develop; Benjamin was decently effective in the passing game last year, with 263 yards on 35 receptions.

“I mean, I thought I did a pretty good job of getting the ball out of the backfield last season,” Benjamin said. “I think Herm just wants me to get more opportunities to do that, and so, that’s where I can do my part and make sure I get open on my routes and stuff like that. That’s been a key thing for me this spring.”

Granted, last season saw ASU really emphasize Benjamin’s ground attack — he carried the ball three hundred times.

Sure, it was quite effective, but that kind of consistency also takes its toll; that’s 300 plays, all but 18 of which (his touchdowns) probably ended with some sort of tackle. And seeing that he had piled up over 1,000 yards after contact, most of those 300 plays probably included multiple body blows to the then-sophomore.

“Playing this position, it’s what comes with the game,” Benjamin said. “You’re going to beat your body up. I signed up for this.”

That said, getting Benjamin going out of the backfield in the passing game can certainly alleviate some of that.

“I just think it takes its off of your body, running through the middle, running from the outside,” he said. “I think that’s just the thought process behind that, get me more balls in open space and let me do what I do.”

That’s also where guys like redshirt junior Isaiah Floyd and sophomore A.J. Carter come in. The two were also Benjamin’s main backups last year, but combined for just 221 yards on 49 carries.

Those aren’t bad numbers, but they could certainly be better, as another attempt to take some weight off of Benjamin’s shoulders.

The general consensus among players and coaches has been that those two have seen marked improvement this offseason and this spring. Benjamin’s seen it, too, and seemed enthused about what it could mean for his workload — not to mention the team’s success — in 2019.

“I think that you can see tremendous improvement from their game from last season,” Benjamin said. “I think Isaiah, the biggest thing for him is just understanding and being consistent on a day-to-day basis, and I think this spring he’s definitely shown that. A.J., he’s actually practicing well, he’s using his size to his advantage and stuff like that.”

So, for now, it’s just about getting better one step at a time, for the clear feature back who seems to quite the bright future ahead. Odds are, even despite efforts to take some weight off of his shoulders, Benjamin’s still going to take quite the load in 2019, and that’s where this summer comes into play.

His plan is to spend the five months or so between Thursday’s final spring practice and the start of fall camp building up his 5-foot-10, 200-pound body even further, in order continue taking the brunt of the Sun Devils’ offense at such a high level.

“Really, just bigger, faster, stronger,” Benjamin said. “It’s as simple as that. Just helping this team do what we need to do, and win. Winning is the big thing, always want to win.”

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