USC DL De'jon Benton channels his inner Dr. Seuss when discussing playing with a cast

De’jon Benton is getting used to playing with a cast on his hand.

The USC defensive lineman missed the Trojans’ Week 2 game against Stanford earlier this season with an arm injury and has played the last two games with a club over his left hand as a result. Asked about the situation on Wednesday, his response was straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.

“This is my baby,” he said of the cast, which he apparently calls ‘Thing 1’ while his free hand has been dubbed ‘Thing 2.’

#USC DL De’jon Benton on adjusting to playing with a cast on his hand: “This is my baby.” He pointed to his cast and said, “I call this Thing 1,” and other hand, “Thing 2.”

— Antonio Morales (@AntonioCMorales) September 29, 2022

A fourth-year junior, Benton has a key role on the interior of the USC defensive front. He saw 42 snaps against Oregon State over the weekend, a season-high and the third-most of any USC defensive lineman behind Solomon Byrd and Tuli Tuipulotu. He has seven tackles and half a tackle for loss on the year.

USC hosts Arizona State at the L.A. Coliseum on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN.