Benjamin Michael Bennett IV (born February 24, 1993) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

Early life

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. History Following the signing of the Treaty of Greenville, which opened the Northwest Territory to ...

, 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 (currently branded as the Navy All-American Bowl for sponsorship reasons) 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 p ...

. He was a two-time Greater Western Ohio Conference player of the year and served as

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

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 (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

. 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 (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

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 The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

campus. He followed up with a second-place finish in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

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 pand 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 nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

at Centerville.

College career

As a

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

in 2011, Bennett played in all 13 games, recording 17

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

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

Pre-draft

Bennett, who was unable to work out at the 2015 NFL Combine due to injury, pulled up on his

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

attempt at Ohio State's

Pro Day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

with a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

problem. The injury forced him to withdraw from the other on-field drills.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On May 2, 2015, Bennett was selected 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

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 American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

. 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 The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. 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

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