A football love letter: Broomfield CB Benner ultimately picks AFA; salutes veteran father

Broomfield defensive back Mikhail Benner’s dad, an Air Force veteran, wanted to make sure his son wasn’t flipping his commitment from Central Michigan to the Academy because of him.

“He even asked me, are you sure this is what you want? You’re not doing this for me, right?” said Benner, announcing his committal to the Air Force Academy via social media Monday. “And I was like, kind of, and kind of not.”

Staying home!! #committed #BoltBrotherhood #FlyFightWin @CoachAlexMeans @CoachTCalhoun @coachcdjackson @coachawrightAFA pic.twitter.com/7xblrrvcFc

— Mikhail Benner (@bennermikhail0) June 24, 2024

The inbound senior thought he’d found his college home after visiting the Mount Pleasant, Michigan campus,­ verbally committing to the school last week. On the advice of his parents to keep an open mind to other opportunities, though, he took an unofficial visit to the base in Colorado Springs this past weekend, and it provided the clarity he needed.

He’d figured it’d be fictitious to say his father didn’t play a part in the choice.

“The military is something I’ve been planning on doing after high school and college in the first place,” Benner said before explaining he and his younger brothers’ upbringing with their father Deante Brooks, who served 14 years in the Air Force. “Having a father figure that served in the military is awesome for us. I feel like it (taught us) good leadership. He’s a role model we want to follow in his footsteps.”

The Eagles’ star cornerback spent Saturday at the Academy, accompanied by his father and brothers. He said he arrived a bit skeptical, just a day after announcing his commitment to former Colorado State coach Jim McElwain’s program at CMU. Yet “the more and more we got through the day, it was just growing on me and growing me.”

From a football perspective, Benner was sold, too. From joining the state’s most consistent Division-I football program, which aside from the shortened pandemic year, has four straight winning seasons, all capped with bowl game wins — to the Falcons’ coaching staff, starting with defensive backs coach Charlie Jackson.

Last year under Jackson, former Air Force free safety Trey Taylor won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back. Benner was shown the trophy during the visit.

“Getting to play for the coach that let that happen,” Benner said of it. “That’s the goal. That’s my ultimate goal.”

The prized cornerback led the state with 11 interceptions during Broomfield’s title run two years ago, then was named to CHSAA’s 4A second team following the Eagles’ run to the semifinals last fall.

And he’s only getting better, Broomfield coach Robert O’Brien vowed

O’Brien, soon to start his second season at the helm of the Eagles, has been impressed with his growth physically over the last 10 months, saying the CB has gotten bigger and faster.

Whenever talking about Benner, though, the conversation usually gets back to his intangibles.

“You don’t get the opportunity to go to the Air Force Academy and or have a West Point offer without being a high-character kid,” O’Brien said. “He’s always doing the right thing. He’s a leader on and off the field.”

Listed at 6-foot, Benner is rated a three-star recruit by 247Sports. He also had offers from West Point, Washington State, Yale, UNLV, Nevada, among others.

He affirmed Monday, however, “there’s no more switching for me.”

“I’m shutting down my recruitment completely,” Benner said. “Air Force is where I want to be.”