Mazeo Bennett manages perfectionism in growth to becoming a top receiver at South Carolina

Mazeo Bennett Jr. became one of South Carolina’s top receivers during the 2024 season. As a true freshman, Bennett caught 30 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns. His yardage as a true freshman put the sophomore second among returning players for 2025.

As the calendar shifts to the start of fall, the sophomore wideout manages the desire to be perfect with the desire to be better.

“In every aspect of my game, I’m a perfectionist,” Bennett said. “So I like to just be perfect in every aspect of what I’m doing.”

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Wide receivers coach Mike Furrey said in the spring that one of the “kryptonites” to Bennett is the emotional attachment to failure that comes with his perfectionism.

“Mazeo is a really, really smart player,” Furrey said in March. “I think one of the kryptonites to Mazeo was that he was so passionate about the game that he became so emotionally attached to failure or not being able to do stuff.”

However, that passion can easily become a desire to improve in the areas of his game where he struggles.

“I want to grow in everything, I want to keep learning more and more,” Bennett said. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot going from my freshman year to my sophomore year.”

Not only has his perfectionist mindset helped grow Bennett on the field, but it’s also helped him grow in the weight room.

“I think when you look at our group, the guy in our room that has made the biggest strides physically — and a lot of it has to do with just his body maturing — is Mazeo Bennett,” Furrey said in the spring. “I think when you look at Mazeo, his (testing) numbers are all down, his speed, his quickness, his shiftiness.”

Bennett hopes his growth in the weight room makes a night-and-day difference in his game at South Carolina.

“I feel like I was good, but I’m better now. There was never a question in my game, but I’m better now,” Bennett said. “Every year, it’s just a striving that coach Furrey wants to push me to be better than I was the year before, better than I was the week before in practice.”

Bennett’s love for football and the emotions he shows have given the sophomore a need to develop a better next-play mentality.

“I care about this game so much,” Bennett said. “I grew up playing this game, and as a competitor, you want every play to go your way. When the play doesn’t go your way, you have to learn to, ‘Okay, now it’s time for the next.”

Going into his sophomore year at South Carolina, that mentality is another area Bennett has grown in.

“As a freshman, you want things to be perfect, and every play is not going to be perfect,” Bennett said. “As a professional, you just got to be able to take those blows and move on to the next play.”

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