When a signed football player goes on a two-year Mormon mission after high school, patience is required not only during that span, but also afterward.

While Sam Bennion woke up early most days during his mission in Chile to get in extra conditioning, it had been a long time between football practices and a long time between weight lifting sessions.

Bennion, who signed with the Buffaloes in 2014 and enrolled at Colorado in January, has at least returned to the football field with the right attitude and effort.

“Sam has been running around hard. I call him the Energizer Bunny. He just goes and goes and goes,” Buffs head coach Mike MacIntyre said following a recent spring practice. “It has been exciting to see him out here. He gives everything he has. All of this is truly new for him and he is getting his football legs back. He has shown some good things, though.”

Bennion admits the beginning of spring ball was “pretty hard” and said he is still working to re-learn the nuances of football.

“I still need to kind of get my feet under me,” Bennion added. “Going hard is the only thing I can do right now because I am just learning everything. So I try to do my best. I think putting forth the effort is the best thing I can do right now.

“The conditioning isn't that big of a problem because you can always just push through it. Probably the biggest part is just getting the technique back and then after that, just learning the plays and knowing what to do without thinking.”

Bennion registered 19-and-a-half quarterback sacks as an upperclassman at Logan High School in Utah. He was originally recruited by former Buffs defensive coordinator Kent Baer to be a defensive end in a 4-3 defense, but Bennion has been practicing as an outside linebacker in Jim Leavitt's 3-4 scheme this spring.

“I don't think it is a temporary situation. I think I am just going to stay at outside linebacker,” Bennion said. “I will get my body to the point where it needs to be and then I'll help out with the outside linebacker corps.”

The growing pains associated with returning from a mission should be overtaken by Bennion's maturity as he advances through his college career. After all, he is two years older, still with five years to play four for the Buffaloes.

“I am more mentally tough, too,” Bennion said. “During my mission I learned to push through tiredness and I learned to push through all the problems that come at you.

"Also, coming here around the guys, I actually learned to be a little bit more social. I wasn't exactly the most talkative guy before. I found out that I am actually able to open up a little bit more.”

Additional notes -

*** Bennion was around 6-foot-5, 240-pounds when he signed with the Buffs in 2014, and upon his return from the mission, he weighed in at 220-pounds. Bennion is listed at 225-pounds on Colorado's spring roster.

*** Bennion's communication with his home country during his mission was limited to weekly e-mails and bi-annual video chats with his family. Each of his three older brothers served a two-year mission before him, so he had an idea of what to expect.

*** Bennion humbly said he “got decent” at speaking Spanish during his time in Chile but “wasn't the greatest.” He then revealed, though, that he was fluent enough in Spanish that he began thinking in Spanish late during his mission, and upon arriving back in the United States.

“I had an accent and I could barely form [English] sentences. I was speaking 'Spanglish' for about two weeks,” he said with a smile. “When I went and hung out with some of my friends after the mission, it was kind of hard to not speak Spanish with them.”

*** The owner of a 3.95 grade point average in high school, Bennion received offers from multiple Ivy League schools as a recruit. He also received an offer from Utah before he committed to Colorado.