Defensive end Anthony Bennett’s family ties provide strong connection to Regina

Anthony Bennett’s roots in Regina were buried deep and spread wide long before the Florida-born defensive end strapped it up for the Rams.

His mother Patricia was born and raised in the Queen City, earned an education degree at the University of Regina, and still attends church at Christ The King when she’s in town, as she was on Sunday.

Back in the day, as Patricia Phaneuf she was a trainer and manager for the Cougars basketball team, which starred her sister Theresa. Patricia was also a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders cheer team for three years in the 1970s and met her husband Charles in Regina in 1985, the year he got into his only game as a defensive lineman for the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. Patricia was a season ticket holder by that time, and cheered him on from the seats at Taylor Field. She also worked as a bouncer at three local establishments frequented by Roughriders players.

Charles and Patricia were married at her brother’s house in Regina and their first child, Amanda, was born in the city.

Anthony’s older brother Andrew played as a receiver for the Rams and was a teammate of current head coach Mark McConkey, as well as current Riders receiver Mitch Picton. Anthony’s cousin Chris King is another Rams alumni.

Anthony’s maternal grandparents lived their entire lives in Regina. Patricia bought their Regina Beach cottage from them, and that will be her summer home, she said.

“So there were serious ties,” said Patricia, who has been a school teacher in Florida for 33 years. “It wasn’t like Anthony just picked Regina out of a hat.”

No, in many ways Regina picked Anthony, who was born in Weston, Florida, went to Cypress Bay High School in the Sunshine State, grew up on four-down football but is eligible for the CFL draft, thanks to his mother’s birth certificate.

Now 26, Anthony had earned a public safety degree from Florida Atlantic University a few years ago and considered quitting the game to pursue a career in law enforcement. But he knew that he had two years of U Sports eligibility remaining and the thought of ending his college career in the comfortable surroundings of Regina, which he had visited often as a kid, appealed to him.

“I really never got the opportunity to play in front of my Canadian side of the family, and that was the main reason for going there,” Anthony said earlier this week in Edmonton, where he attended the CFL combine.

“You just take the leap of faith, having a team that trusts you and is willing to work with you, willing to re-recruit you.”

Anthony had already worked out in the Rams facility when his brother was on the roster, so he had made some acquaintances, and the team knew what they were getting in another Bennett brother.

“He likes to talk a lot, I’ll give him that,” said McConkey. “He was a good leader for us, a vocal guy. He loves football. He played Div. 1, so he knows what that’s about and he tried to bring that mentality to our program and he did a great job of that. Well liked. Good guy. Charismatic, good family.”

Anthony had a solid first year for the Rams in 2021, then excelled in 2022, earning first team All Canadian honours. He came with great expectations to the combine and after posting respectable testing numbers — 4.76 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 16 reps on the bench press and 30-inch vertical — he stood out in one-on-one drills to confirm his status as a likely first-round pick in the May 2 draft.

McConkey is certain Bennett merits that consideration.

“He played special teams for us. You think of a D lineman, you think he’s not going to play special teams, but he’s super athletic and I know some teams are looking at him at the linebacker spot as well. He’s a football player, he can do it all. He even had a pick six from the D line. He can definitely contribute on special teams early and then it’s up to the team how they want to use him, whether he’s a pass rush specialist on second and long. I think he’ll eventually work his way into the starting rotation wherever he winds up.”

The Roughriders have three picks in the top 21 — third, 11^th and 21^st — and the Regina narrative practically demands they call his name.

“That would be like a miracle,” said Patricia. “Like a dream come true. But I’d be happy with him anywhere. I’m very proud of him.”

dbarnes@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/sportsdanbarnes