At Peter and Shauna Bennee’s house, any type of rules surrounding the usage of sports balls indoors quickly went out the window.
With a large, athletic family that was always playing with some kind of ball — footballs, baseballs, basketballs, volleyballs — in the family room next to the kitchen, Peter knew the day would come when he’d have to refinish the hardwood floors — especially after the rollerblading started.
“We weren’t really going to have too many indoor ball rules,” Peter said.
Noah and Jackson, the two youngest boys in a blended family of 10, grew up playing all kinds of sports, from basketball to soccer to volleyball and, yes, football.
Sports are in the Bennee family DNA. Peter played rugby for BYU, while Shauna played volleyball and ran track at the University of Utah.
Shauna’s brother is Danny Vranes, who starred on Utah’s basketball team before playing in the NBA for seven seasons, and her cousin is Jeff Judkins, who played alongside Vranes in the Special Events Center before carving out a five-year NBA career.
Jackson and Noah’s siblings were in on the action as well. Nik Sonntag played defensive line for Utah’s undefeated 2004 football team, while Justin Bennee was a pro snowboarder sponsored by companies like Nike and Nitro.
Growing up in a sports-loving family, virtually any free time not spent at school, doing homework or at church activities was spent playing any, and every, sport.
“It’s just what we love at our house is anything sports,” Shauna said. “So anytime there’s time for fun, it was always some kind of sport. Sort of natural. I don’t know how much just comes genetically or exposure, but if (there’s) anything ever fun, it’s going to be some kind of a sport.”
Unlike some kids in today’s modern era that are specialized in a sport from an early age, Noah and Jackson were involved on many sports teams, ranging from volleyball to football and everything in between, throughout their childhood. Playing all of those different sports likely helped develop their overall athleticism.
In fact, the Bennee family sports calendar was so packed that they always had a youth sports coach miffed at them for missing a practice to participate in one of their other sports, but the brothers were so good that the coaches had no choice but to endure it.
“They would put up with it just because the kids were good athletes and contributed,” Shauna said. “So they had a hard time kicking us off the team because it’s like, ‘Well, they are kind of good. OK.’ So I think early on they showed they were really athletic.”
The journey to Utah
Noah was a star for Olympus High in multiple sports — basketball, soccer, volleyball and track and field — but he shined the most on the football field, where he played both ways and was named to the 2018 Deseret News All-State first team after a season that saw him rack up 743 yards and 11 touchdowns as a receiver and 37 tackles and nine interceptions, including a pick-six, as a defensive back.
Despite the standout season, no scholarship offers came for Noah, and after serving a Latter-day Saint mission in Colombia, he chose to walk on at the school he grew up cheering for.
Utah slotted him in the wide receiver room, but Noah never saw much time on the field, only getting some special teams run (and four snaps at tight end) in 2023 after two seasons on the bench.
“We just had such confidence that he was such a good athlete and really could do it. But for whatever reason, I think a lot of athletics is luck,” Shauna said. “You got to have the right timing. They got to need your position. Coach has to, for whatever reason, spot you and like you and all the things that go into (it). There’s a lot of chance.”
Without a clear path to playing time at Utah, Noah transferred to Weber State, where he could show his potential at the college level, though it took a minute for him to get the targets he needed to get going. In 2024, he was targeted just 11 times and finished the season with 44 yards and a touchdown. In 2025, he was elevated to a starter, and while he didn’t have an eye-popping statistical output due to only a few targets per game, he finished the year with 23 catches for 264 yards for the Wildcats, earning All-Big Sky second-team honors.
“I had incredible coaches. My tight end coaches (David Fiefia) and (Robert Conley), I attribute a lot, I feel like I grew a lot as a tight end there,” Noah said. “I’d only played tight end one year previous to that. So grateful for them. I really learned a lot technically with them. They’re great coaches.”
Meanwhile, Jackson, who graduated from Olympus two years after Noah, took a similar path as his brother.
Though his high school stats were modest compared to Noah’s — 247 receiving yards, one touchdown; 10 tackles, two interceptions, one pick-six in his senior year — he drew the interest of now-head coach Morgan Scalley late in the recruiting cycle. Scalley couldn’t give him a scholarship, but offered him a preferred walk-on spot for when he returned from his mission in Hawaii.
Along with playing both ways in football, Jackson was an all-state punter in addition to playing basketball, volleyball and rugby in high school. Jackson was even offered a spot on the now-defunct Utah Warriors rugby team — part of Major League Rugby — out of high school, but turned it down to go on the mission.
‘A poster child of our program’
Jackson, who began his football career at Utah in 2024, just missed being teammates with his brother, who had transferred to Weber State that year. At Utah, Jackson found his footing on special teams, with the former punter blocking a punt against Iowa State.
In 2025, Jackson impressed coaches during spring and fall camp, leading to extensive playing time at nickel back during Utah’s first four games, including starts against Cal Poly and Texas Tech. After multiple Utah safeties went down with injuries, Jackson was called upon to step up as the Utes’ starting safety for the rest of the season, finishing the year with 64 tackles, four interceptions, a pick-six, nine pass deflections and two blocked kicks.
He even played on offense, rushing the ball twice for 15 yards and hauling in three receptions for 18 yards.
“He’s a kid that has just worked and worked and worked. You’re talking about a poster child of our program, of somebody that says, ‘Hey, buy in.’ Buy into everything that we’re telling you, from your technique, your pad level, your eyes or hand placement, just buy in,” cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah said last season. “And he has completely bought in. ... You have applied yourself in a way that other people won’t and you’ve bought in. So we love Bennee. Jackson has been amazing, and what you’re seeing from him we believe is just the tip of the iceberg for Jackson. His development has been fantastic.”
‘A family and brothers dream come true’
After Noah’s senior season at Weber State, Utah needed an experienced tight end to add to the room and pair with do-it-all player Hunter Andrews. Scalley raised the possibility of a Utah reunion with Noah, but he first needed an NCAA exemption to play another season.
“I didn’t know if I was going to get another year. I did. I was in the portal, had a couple of opportunities. I was hoping, crossing my fingers that Utah would work,” Noah said.
The eligibility extension and offer from Scalley came, marking a full-circle moment for Noah and the opportunity to play college football with his brother.
“The moment I was able to tell him that I’m coming back to the U. was so much fun. We were both ecstatic. Our whole family was ecstatic,” Noah said.
Both Noah and Jackson turned down larger NIL offers from other schools to play together at Utah for head coach Scalley.
“We always talked about playing together and living the dream. Just the question was if he was going to have the opportunity to get another year and God blessed us with another one,” Jackson said.
For a family that grew up as Utah fans, being able to watch Jackson and Noah play together for the University of Utah has been nothing short of a dream come true.
“It’s been a boys and a family lifetime dream to have Noah and Jackson play together on the same team,” Peter said. “There could not have been a university that we would’ve been more excited about than the University of Utah. So it literally is a family and brothers dream come true this year.”
Not only are Jackson and Noah on the same team together, they both are making a big impact. In going from walk-ons to starters, they’ve become a testament to hard work and determination.
“The thing we kept saying at our house was always like, ‘Don’t worry, cream rises. Cream rises to the top.’ It might take a little bit, but it’ll all sort itself out,” Shauna said.
Jackson has been an indispensable player on defense this year. Utah’s coaches have used his versatility to have him play both safety and nickel, though he has played the majority of his snaps at nickel as Nate Ritchie and Rabbit Evans have patrolled the backfield at safety.
“It’s a great opportunity that I have to be moved around to different positions, nickel and safety,” Jackson said. “I think I just got to be extra diligent, double diligent of studying the slot, studying route concepts as well as the box. So I got to do a little bit more there. It’s been really fun to do both.”
Jackson hasn’t missed a beat at nickel, already notching his first interception in Utah’s win over Arkansas. Pro Football Network graded him the best cornerback in the nation in Week 1.
“Very good cover guy. He’s long levered. He gets his hands on you. He’s really good at sliding his feet, good hips, good ball skills,” Scalley said. “All those skillsets make for a good corner. We can also blitz him, we haven’t done much of that necessarily, but yeah, he’s got an unbelievable skillset.”
Noah has emerged as Utah’s go-to tight end, leading the team in receiving yards with 148 on five receptions through two games. He scored his first touchdown as a Ute against Idaho, running free and giving quarterback Byrd Ficklin the easiest throw of the night.
“Yeah, a dream come true. I’ve envisioned that moment all my life even, especially in college, just like, man, what’s that going to feel like?” Noah said of his touchdown reception. “Again, I can’t take really any of the credit. I just happen to be the guy getting the ball. Happened to be open on a couple of these, but credit is due to (offensive coordinator Kevin) McGiven and the quarterbacks, the whole team. I can’t take any credit other than just try to do my job.”
Against Arkansas, Noah notched his first 100-plus-yard game in college with 113 yards and a touchdown on four receptions, three of which went for at least 25 yards.
“Noah came in as a walk-on and was skinny, but I loved that kid. I’m like, this guy’s going to help us. He ends up putting on weight and to become a tight end, the weight that we were asking him to put on, it took time,” Scalley said. “So he went to Weber State, did a heck of a job there. When the opportunity presented itself, heck yeah, I want that kid back. We looked at what he did at Weber State. Really good hands. He just cares. I knew that I wanted that kid back at some point.”
For a large contingent of the Bennee family, there was always something to watch for — and to cheer for — on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“It’s so exciting. I don’t know, every play was just — it’s so fun when one’s on offense, one’s on defense. It’s exciting, every minute there’s something happening,” Shauna said.
“It was thrilling, especially to see Noah get some passes that we hadn’t seen before and Jackson to get that wonderful interception. Just knowing how much it means to the boys too, it’s so much more fun because it’s so special for them. They’re so excited.”
‘God, family, football’
Family has always been important in the lives of Jackson and Noah, who have prioritized relationships with each of their siblings.
“We have been really blessed, blessed by God to have an incredible family. We have 10 of us kids in the family, all have good relationships and I’m very grateful for each of them. I can take something from each of them and say, ‘Hey, I admire that and I aspire that of them,’” Noah said.
The two youngest of the family, though, have always had a special bond.
Though on different sides of the ball, the two siblings still spend a lot of time together at team meetings, practices and team dinners.
“We have been really blessed, blessed by God to have an incredible family. We have 10 of us kids in the family, all have good relationships and I’m very grateful for each of them. I can take something from each of them and say, ‘Hey, I admire that and I aspire that of them.’”
— Utah tight end Noah Bennee
“I think the little things are super cool, to just go to practice together, study together, come home, recap practice and what we could have done better and what we did well, trying to give each other some tips from the other side of the ball to help each other out. So I love that,” Jackson said.
In a true testament to their relationship, all of the time that they spend together at “work” isn’t enough — they are also next door neighbors.
This spring, Jackson and his wife, Mary, and Noah and his wife, Savannah, both had babies. Now the two brothers and their partners are tackling a new challenge together.
“We’re neighbors and our wives are besties and so they take care of the babies together while we’re at work,” Jackson said. “So it’s been really good. Family’s super close. You couldn’t ask for a better situation for helping raise the little ones.”
“We’re fortunate our kids literally are best friends. That certainly goes for Jackson and Noah now that they live side by side,” Peter said. “They literally share a wall. Their wives are best friends and they now have these babies a month apart. So it just doesn’t get any better than that.”
Through it all, the Bennees have been able to lean on their faith in Jesus Christ.
Before each game, after running out with the team, Jackson and Noah take a moment to pray in the north end zone side by side.
“Faith is a huge part of our lives. We are so blessed to have grown in a God-fearing home and believing in Jesus Christ, he’s our rock,” Noah said. “So when we’re able to pray, pray together, give each other strength, it’s a special moment for us. We are living such blessed lives and giving anything back to God and everything back to God is what we hope to do, and that plays a big part of our every day.”
For the Bennees, it’s “God, family, football” in that order, and their faith has played a big part in their football journey.
“Faith is really important in their football career because it’s all under the umbrella of they’re kind of on God’s path and we’ll just see where He wants these boys to go and how their lives will shape up,” Shauna said.
“Especially with Noah when things looked like, oh, super frustrating and things aren’t clicking as far as opportunity goes, it’s like, well, we don’t know what the plan is, but God does. You put some of your faith in that, that there’s a bigger plan than just football.”
From walk-ons to stars, the Bennee brothers are enjoying every minute that they get to play together at Utah.
“It’s great. Definitely surreal. We never thought this chance would really come for us to play together, but every time he makes a play, I’m the most excited guy on the sideline and it’s the coolest thing. It’s so fun. We’re living our dream,” Jackson said.
