Heath Benedict

Full Name:	College: Newberry College
Height/Weight: 6'6", 335 lb.	Position: Offensive Tackle
Birthdate: June 30, 1983	Died on: March 26, 2008
Birthplace: Tilburg, Netherlands	Place of Death: Jacksonville, Florida

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[edit] Biography

A senior offensive tackle at Division II Newberry College, Heath Benedict was the highest rated high school player in New Jersey.

Benedict originally signed with the University of Tennessee, but never played -- he redshirted in 2002, sat out in 2003, and transfered to Newberry after being moved from defensive tackle to offensive guard and then to offensive tackle.

In his first two years at Newberry, Benedict played in all but one game. He was awarded first-team all D2 honors in 2006, and considered entering the 2007 NFL Draft. However, after grading out as a 6th or 7th round pick, he stayed in college for his senior year. Nevertheless, the Jacksonville Jaguars thought enough of Benedict to give him an unofficial workout: He clcoked in at 6'6", 332 pounds, and scored a 31 on the Wonderlic.

In 2007, Benedict was a preseason first-team all-American (D-II) and made USA Today's Sports Weekley's "all-Sports Weekly Team" -- the only D-II player to win such honors. Originally hailing from the Netherlands, Benedict has already had a strange path to the NFL. Being from a small Division II school would be more of the same.

Going into the 2008 NFL Draft, Benedict projected to be a second-day draft pick. A strong, athletic player with good size, the two big knocks on him were his age -- he would have been 25 in June of that year -- and his inexperience, having never played Division I football.

However, it was not to be. On March 26, 2008, less than two weeks after his Pro Day workout, Benedict was found dead in his Jacksonville, Florida home. Drugs, alcohol, or "foul play" were ruled out nearly immediately, and his agent stated that Benedict died of natural causes.^[1]