Jakorian Bennett first crossed paths with Mosiah Nasili-Kite when the two played on opposing defenses at Hutchinson Community College and Independence Community College, respectively, in Kansas. Then they became teammates for three seasons at Maryland.

In going from competitors to teammates, the two defenders became something like family; Bennett this week at the NFL Combine said Nasili-Kite is “like a brother” to him. So, who better to dish on what the former Maryland defensive lineman is bringing to Auburn this season than someone who has seen him up close each of the last four years?

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“He’s a dog,” Bennett said Thursday in Indianapolis.

Bennett, a defensive back out of Mobile who was a standout for Maryland, played three seasons alongside Nasili-Kite, a 6-foot-2, 288-pound defensive lineman who earned All-Big Ten honorable mention in 2020.

According to Bennett, the two share a similar mindset since they both took the less conventional route in their college careers. Bennett, a former three-star prospect out of Mobile, didn’t have any serious Division-I offers coming out of McGill-Toolen. So, he opted to go to JUCO, spending two seasons at Hutchinson before transferring to Maryland in 2020. That same year, Nasili-Kite signed with the Terrapins after spending the 2019 season at Independence CC.

At Independence, Nasili-Kite had 32 tackles and a sack in his lone season as the program went 8-2. His stint at JUCO was preceded by a year at Washington, where he initially signed in 2018 but didn’t see the field as a freshman.

“He just has that different mindset to go out there and just go eat,” Bennett said.

At Maryland, Nasili-Kite flourished. In his three seasons with the Terrapins, he tallied 80 tackles, with 14.5 for a loss and nine sacks. He posted four sacks in each of his first two seasons at Maryland, earning honorable mention all-conference recognition in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign and recording a career-high 37 tackles in 2021. Last season, he had just 26 tackles and one sack in 12 games before transferring to Auburn this offseason.

Bennett believes his former teammate will thrive in his new role in the SEC this season, and he’s eager to see how it plays out for Nasili-Kite at Auburn.

“He’s just trying to go out there and be dominant, be the most dominant player out there — and he can be,” Bennett said. “He will be.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.