January 14, 2016 by Charlie Eisenhood in Livewire, Video with 2 comments
Texas A&M captain Dalton Smith and 2015 graduate Matt Bennett have both signed with the Dallas Roughnecks, adding to the depth of talent of the new AUDL franchise that has already signed Beau Kittredge, Cassidy Rasmussen, Jimmy Mickle, Dylan Freechild, and Kurt Gibson, just to name a (talented) few.
“I had my eyes set on these guys from the very beginning,” said Roughnecks owner Jim Gerencser. “They’re the ultimate give-and-go duo.”
Smith and Bennett, dubbed the ‘Splash Brothers‘ in 2015 for their offensive prowess last season for A&M, had been planning to together join a local AUDL team, either the Roughnecks or the Austin Sol.
“At first we were looking at the Sol, but Dallas started signing crazy guys,” said Bennett. “Even though it’s definitely a commute, they have a definite chance to win and it looks like they’re really gunning for it.”
Both players spoke highly of the Dallas tryout and the intensity and excitement that seemed palpable. “It kind of reminded me of Worlds just being surrounded and humbled by so many great players,” said Smith.
The duo will commute from College Station — about three hours from Dallas — for games and practices. Bennett has an additional hour drive to College Station from Houston.
Smith says he plans to be involved with the team as much as possible during his final college season with A&M, though he will still prioritize the college teams mini-camps and tournaments.
As for their roles on the field, Bennett hopes they get to play on the same line.
“We really want to play together,” he said. “Because when we played in college, it was hard to stop us. We just want to be handlers somewhere.”
