Nevada receiver Ben Putman out to prove he's not a one-hit wonder

Ben Putman etched his name into Nevada football lore last December with his epic Arizona Bowl showing.

But Putman first earned the notice of Wolf Pack head coach Jay Norvell two months earlier in Hawaii.

“It was the Hawaii game where Ben made it on the kickoff team and went down and tackled a guy inside the 20,” Norvell recalled. “That’s when I really started to think, ‘Oh, this kid is stepping up.’”

Putman was a little-known walk-on at the time, but he took direction from coaches and did what they asked of him to earn a role in special teams. A scout team player at the time, Purman earned their trust. So when McLane Mannix, the Wolf Pack’s star receiver, transferred at the end of the regular season, the team had a void in its receiving corps as it prepared to play Arkansas State in its bowl game. The coaches knew they could trust Putman.

“On the first play of the Arkansas State game, he runs down on the kickoff and tackles a guy inside the 15,” Norvell said. “He’s just a guy who took advantage. He’s become a very trustworthy guy and it doesn’t surprise me that when he got his opportunity on offense he came through.”

In that Arizona Bowl, Putman became the team’s savior. Nevada’s offense was sputtering with nearly as many turnovers (two) as points (three) in its first 14 series against the Red Wolves. But Putman sparked the team to an overtime victory, reeling in a two huge 44-yard catches on the team’s final two regular-season possessions. After entering the game with zero college catches, he had four for a team-high 114 yards in the 16-13 victory (no other Pack player had more than 31 receiving yards). He added two tackles on special teams.

“I wanted to show the coaches I could actually get on the field and make plays just so they’d give me a legitimate shot heading into next year,” Putman said after the bowl win. “I’m definitely happy about how it turned out. You look at the big picture and it was one game. I still have a lot to prove.”

Putman figured that big bowl game gave him a better chance of an increased role this season. He wants to prove as a senior in 2019 he wasn’t a one-hit wonder in the Arizona Bowl. It’s unlikely Putman starts in the season opener Aug. 30 against Purdue, but he should see significant reps in the slot this season.

“We definitely have a great receiving corps,” Putman said. “I think last season helped me prove myself, especially the last game. I definitely think we’re all going to get a lot of reps, but we all complement each other in certain ways. As a whole, I think we’re going to be really good.”

The Wolf Pack’s roster is full of overlooked high-effort players who have squeezed more out of their careers than most recruiters who have expected (for example, Nevada’s four captains had a combined two scholarship offers out of high school). But Putman’s story might be the craziest of them all.

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Novato, Calif., native didn’t garner much recruiting interest out of high school. Some NAIA schools scouted him but were turned off by his size. So he joined Santa Rosa Junior College, where he played for two seasons, before accepting a scholarship to the University of Sioux Falls, a Division II school in South Dakota. After a summer there, he left the school with hopes of playing FBS ball.

With no interest, he sat out the 2017 season (essentially a redshirt year) and emailed 50 coaches a day hoping for a response. Two weeks before school started last fall, Nevada reached out and said it couldn’t offer him a scholarship but he was free to walk on to the team. By the end of the season, Putman was a bowl hero.

“That’s why we coach, is kids like Ben,” Nevada’s offensive coordinator Matt Mumme said. “To see that, it makes me emotional. Before the bowl game, I told him, ‘Just go out there and have fun. Mannix was gone. Don’t worry about anybody talking about Mannix. Just go out there and be Ben Putman and have fun,' and he did. He did it brilliantly and that’s all him and the accolades go to him. In the coaching profession, you just love to see those kinds of stories.”

Putman was awarded a scholarship directly after the game as Norvell, on national television, said he was putting the receiver on financial aid after accepting the bowl trophy. It was a surreal moment for everybody.

“Ben’s worked hard and he deserves what he’s gotten,” Mumme said. “Even when you talk to Coach (Chris) Ault about the past of the University of Nevada, walk-ons have come here and busted their butts and earned a scholarship and that’s what we see out here on the field, a lot of guys doing that.”

Putman said his mindset hasn’t changed entering this season. Hard work got him on the field last year and will be required again this season to build on the bowl performance. Just because he played well against Arkansas State doesn’t guarantee him additional snaps this year, but it certainly won’t hurt.

“It’s definitely been a lot of ups and downs,” Putman said of his career path. “Went JuCo route, took a season off and then walked on here. I think that kind of helped me in the long run and I think this is my year to cap it all off and I’m excited.”

No matter what happens this season, Putman can call himself an FBS scholarship player, something few would have forecasted when he was in high school. But Putman’s determination and belief in himself has finally paid off with an FBS scholarship. So what’s his favorite thing about being a scholarship player?

“The stipends,” Putman said with a smile.

Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @MurrayNSN.