Daved Benefield (born February 16, 1968) is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player who played thirteen seasons in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) for five different teams. He also was a backup at

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in 1996.

Career

As a youngster growing up in Southern California, he surfed at Newport and Zuma north of Los Angeles. He attended

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

, where was an All-WFC linebacker, and distinguished himself as the star of the

Sigma Alpha Mu Sigma Alpha Mu (), commonly known as Sammy, is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909. Though initially founded as a Jewish organization, the fraternity dropped its religious affiliation and became open to men of a ...

intramural national championship team. Benefield was signed by Edmonton as a free agent in Nov. 1990. The Eskimos released him in July 1991, and he signed with the Los Angeles Wings of the Arena Football League in April 1992. He was signed as a free agent by the

's Ottawa Rough Riders in June 1992. Benefield began his CFL career with the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

as an outside linebacker. He became a starting linebacker in 1992 during his rookie season. In his first CFL game on August 19, 1992, Benefield recorded two quarterback sacks, two tackles for losses and seven tackles total, earning player-of-the-game honors. In 1994, he was named a CFL East Division All-Star, with 38 tackles and nine sacks. In March 1995, Benefield signed as a free agent with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

, where

Dave Ritchie David Ritchie or Dave Ritchie may refer to: * David Ritchie (cricketer) (1892–1974), English cricketer * David Ritchie (diplomat), Australian diplomat * David Ritchie (footballer) (born 1971), former English footballer * David Ritchie (moderator) ...

, who served as defensive coordinator for the Rough Riders during Benefield's rookie season had become head coach. The deal was a two-year contract, reportedly for a $10,000 raise over his 1994 salary of $55,000. In 1995, Benefield tied a CFL record with five sacks in a game against the

Birmingham Barracudas The Birmingham Barracudas were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Barracudas were part of a failed attempt to expand the CFL into the United States. Franchise history In the beginning Ins ...

. In April 1996, Benefield signed with the

of the National Football League. He impressed the 49ers early on in pre-season games, with excellent coverage on special teams. He was also a nickel defensive end on passing downs. In 1997, when Benefield returned to the CFL, there was a bidding war for his services between several teams. He eventually returned to the BC Lions.

External links

CFL.ca stats
* http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daved_benefield.jpeg {{DEFAULTSORT:Benefield, Daved 1968 births Living people BC Lions players California State University, Northridge alumni Canadian football defensive linemen Canadian Football League announcers Canadian football linebackers Ottawa Rough Riders players San Francisco 49ers players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Players of American football from Los Angeles Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Sportspeople from Los Angeles Players of Canadian football from Los Angeles