North Jersey Male Athlete of the Week steps up for his school in any way he can

His first two years of high school, Tyler Benway stuck to the sports he'd been playing his whole life: basketball and baseball.

But when you're at a Group 1 school and you're one of the best athletes there, your friends have some influence on your athletic career.

"All my friends on the football team told me I needed to come out for football because we needed a wide receiver," said Benway, who joined the team as a junior and was the Cardinals' leading receiver this past season. "I love playing team sports."

And the versatile senior carries multiple role on every team he plays on.

He's a three-year varsity baseball player averaged double figures the two years he played basketball as a 6-foot-3, 170-pound starting forward. And once he joined the football team, he played a key role.

But baseball was always his first love and his best sport.

"I was having a catch with my dad when I was 4 years old and I skipped T-ball entirely and went right to the regular stuff when I was 6," Benway said. "As a lefty, I sort of got a head start on pitching although that meant I could only play first base or the outfield the rest of the time."

Benway is probably the Cardinals' top starter, but he got a chance to close a game against St. Mary's earlier in the week and has had lots of experience filling both roles, in addition to being called upon to play first base when he doesn't pitch.

"I like doing both pitching roles and they feel a little different," said Benway, who is 5-1 on a team that has won nine straight and 13 of 15 games. "When I start, I usually throw fastballs the first time through the order, but when I come in to relieve, I go to my off-speed stuff right from the start. I have my best command when I go fastball/changeup."

Warming up as a reliever while he's in the game as a player can be challenging, but Benway has a shortcut he uses to keep his arm loose.

"When I'm throwing ground balls in the infield between innings, I still go though my pitching motion," he said. "I have to keep the mentality of a pitcher out there."

As .390 hitter, he even thinks like a pitcher when he's at the plate.

While Benway has attracted a lot of interest from local colleges, he seems to be headed for the University of South Florida, where he'll either play club baseball, or try and walk on to the team.

"I really love warmer weather and bigger schools," said Benway, who will major in business analytics at the Tampa-based school. "My brother goes to Alabama and my sister is a dancer at the University of Miami, so we all headed to the warmer weather."

"I know I need to put on some weight if I want to walk on at USF," said Benway, who enjoyed the fare at the school's Fine Arts Night after a recent win. "I like to eat and hopefully I'll put some weight on in the right places."

Tyler Benway

Sport: Baseball

School: Pompton Lakes

Class: Senior. Age: 17

Accomplishment: He had a two-inning save against St. Mary, and two days later struck out 11 in 6 innings in a win over Montclair. He went 9 for 15 in five Cardinal wins last week, scoring three runs and driving in four more.

Also nominated: Chris Timmins of West Milford, Zach Taylor of Fair Lawn, Anthony Walter of Park Ridge, Anthony Pizzuti of Lyndhurst, Jake Capra of Leonia, Cole Babaian of Indian Hills, and Will Kirk of Ramsey for baseball.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Record Male Athlete of the Week: Tyler Benway, Pompton Lakes