Benjamin Michael Bennett IV (born February 24, 1993) is a former

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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

Early years

Bennett attended Centerville High School in

Centerville, Ohio Centerville is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. A core suburb of Metro Dayton, its population was 24,240 as of the 2020 census. Geography Centerville is located at (39.638709, -84.148087). Although the city is located primar ...

, where he was a first-team Division I All-Ohio performer who played in the

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...

. He was a two-time Greater Western Ohio Conference player of the year and served as team captain for coach Ron Ullery's 2010 Centerville team that went 9-3 and reached the regional semifinals. Bennett was also a top competitor in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. In 2011, Bennett’s final throw of 19.48 meters (63 feet, 11 inches) in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

at the Division I track and field meet was enough to vault him to a state title at his future home on the Ohio State University campus. He followed up with a second-place finish in the discus with a toss of 56.50 meters (185 feet, 4 inches). He had top-throws of 19.80 meters (64 feet, 11.5 inches) in the shot put, 59.83 meters (196 feet, 3 inches) in the discus and 53.21 meters (174 feet, 6 inches) in the

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

at Centerville.

College career

As a true freshman in 2011, Bennett played in all 13 games, recording 17 tackles and three

quarterback sacks In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the ...

. As a sophomore in 2012, Bennett played in only eight games due to injury. As a junior in 2013, Bennett started all 13 games, recording 44 tackles and 7.5 sacks.

Professional career

Bennett, who was unable to work out at the 2015 NFL Combine due to injury, pulled up on his 40-yard dash attempt at Ohio State's Pro Day with a hamstring problem. The injury forced him to withdraw from the other on-field drills.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On May 2, 2015, Bennett was drafted by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

with the 180th overall pick in the sixth round of the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

. In 13 games of his rookie season, Bennett recorded ten tackles and half a sack. On September 3, 2016, Bennett was placed on injured reserve. On September 19, 2017, Bennett was again placed on injured reserve after suffering a pectoral injury. On September 11, 2018, Bennett was released by the Jaguars.

Atlanta Falcons

On October 2, 2018, Bennett signed with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. He was waived on October 30, 2018. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Falcons on January 10, 2019. On July 22, 2019, Bennett suffered a dislocated ankle and was placed on injured reserve.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Michael 1993 births Atlanta Falcons players Living people Players of American football from Dayton, Ohio American football defensive tackles Ohio State Buckeyes football players Jacksonville Jaguars players