Auburn's Bennett to return next season

AUBURN, Ala. - Cole Bennett couldn&#39;t bear to end his Auburn career as a spectator.<br> <br> After the senior tight end sustained a broken right ankle in the LSU game, he didn&#39;t want to take a redshirt season.<br> <br> Bennett changed his mind after the 10th-ranked Tigers&#39; win over Alabama, deciding to return for a fifth season.<br> <br> ``I told my family before that I wasn&#39;t coming back, and it wasn&#39;t until Thanksgiving that I told them I basically changed my mind and told them I was thinking about coming back,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I felt like if I left now, if I never got to go back, I&#39;d never get another shot at this.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Bennett will travel with the team to the Cotton Bowl game against No. 22 Nebraska, and hopes to even participate in a few practices.<br> <br> He&#39;s hoping that will end his time as a mere spectator.<br> <br> ``I just feel like I&#39;m not part of anything, I feel like I&#39;m on an island, I&#39;m not even really part of the team,&#39;&#39; Bennett told the Opelika-Auburn News. ``It&#39;s really frustrating when you&#39;re watching film and doing stuff, and these guys are getting ready to play a game, and I&#39;m not going to play Nebraska. I don&#39;t need to learn their defenses.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Bennett will get to play another year because he hadn&#39;t previously redshirted and only played in three games this season before his injury.<br> <br> Returning also means he can finish his master&#39;s degree in Management Information Systems.<br> <br> Bennett&#39;s main role with the team since the injury has been to help mentor redshirt freshman tight ends Tommy Trott and Gabe McKenzie.<br> <br> ``I just try to give them pointers whenever I can,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I kind of have to remember how it was when I was that age, when I was playing like that.<br> <br> ``I guess they&#39;ve listened a lot more than I thought.&#39;&#39;