Kickoff returners turn to music in down time

When opposing teams kick off to the IU football team, they're sending the ball toward more than student athletes or football players. Waiting to receive it on one side is freshman Lance Bennett, IU's leading returner with 384 yards, who is also a gifted musician who co-penned Will Smith's hit "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)". On the other side is Courtney Clency, who averages 20.8 yards a return and is an accomplished concert pianist. \nSo far, the tandem has been working on the field. Bennett has a long return of 71 yards and Clency has one for 51 yards, helping propel IU to fourth in the Big Ten with a 20.7 kickoff return average.\nOff the field, both returners share a long history of music, even though it's not a topic they regularly discuss, both said.\n"When we talked about Lance coming to join our team that was the talk, that he'd done some work in the music industry," IU assistant coach Gerald Brown said. "And Courtney Clency, he does a little bit of everything. But I think that's one thing that people don't always see is players' talent outside of the game. Those guys are just blessed."\nFor Clency, piano playing was a way of life growing up. His father was a concert pianist who wanted his son to follow in his musical footsteps. \n"My dad did it, and that's what he's been doing his whole life," Clency said. "He was (playing for) his own choirs when he was 12, so I guess it just runs in the family, and my mom and dad wanted me to get started in it."\nClency began at 6 years old and has been playing ever since. Growing up, he had to practice an hour each day. Now, between football practice and school work, he said it's hard to find that much time. He is taking a piano class through the music school to make sure his talents don't fade.\n"It's something you have to keep doing so you don't lose it," Clency said.\nClency, a sports marketing major, wants to go to medical school but isn't ruling out the possibility of a musical career down the line.\n"I hope to continue for the rest of my life," he said. "Even if it's not me getting better and better, maybe just to keep me going."\nLike Clency, Bennett has been musically inclined for most of his life. He wrote his first song when he was eight years old, and writes all of the time today. He estimates he's written 100 songs so far. \nBennett carries around a digital tape recorder wherever he goes and stops to record any songwriting inspiration that comes to him. It could come walking down the street or sitting on an airplane, or even on the football field, he said. \n"A lot of times, I hate that, because I forget it," Bennett said. "There's no place for me to bring my recorder on the sidelines."\nBennett's biggest hit was "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)," which went to No. 3 on the Billboard charts for Smith. Bennett co-wrote the song with his two brothers, after one of them met the cousin of Smith's executive producer at Morgan State University. The four then got together in Philadelphia to write the verses for the song, and Smith chose which he liked and which he'd use. \n"From there it took off," Bennett said. "It just took off. It was exciting, but I've been doing it since I was eight." \nBennett and his brothers are now working on their own music. Together, this year they formed Third Power Music Group, an independent label Bennett said he hopes will find major distribution.\n"We're working on our own label now, our own music," he said. "As far as writing for other people, I'll do it, but I'm not really pressed to do it. We never started off trying to write for other people, we just met Will and it took off from there."\nEven though they never talk about music, neither Clency nor Bennett would rule out the possibility of co-writing a song together in the future.\n"No, there hasn't been (a song) yet, but there should be," Clency said laughing. "I'll be sure and talk to (Bennett) about that."\n-- Contact staff writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.