Heath Benedict, 2008 NFL Draft Prospect
 | Offensive Tackle 6' 6" 333 lbs. Speed: 5.08 Newberry College (Division II) Senior |
Wow what a shocker, Heath Benedict was found dead in his Jacksonville home on March 26th 2008. The details of his death have not been released, but foul play has been ruled out. I am not real big on doing interviews, in fact, Heath was the only prospect that I did a formal interview with this year. Before the (2007) season started I called him, (actually he called me), and we talked on the phone. I am not going to pretend that I knew him very well, but he left me after our phone call, feeling very good. Heath was a well spoken, very respectful young man. He answered my questions with a 'yes sir" and a "no sir". You just don't hear that from young people these days.
Heath would have been an NFL star, he would have been drafted in the late second, to 3rd round. Sometimes you just have a gut feeling about a player. He looked real good at the senior bowl, had a great workout at the NFL Scouting Combine and looked to be in great shape. How he died isn't really important I guess, he is gone now and I give my heartfelt condolences to his entire family. I am going to leave my write up on Heath posted for people to read, towards the bottom is the excerpts from my pre-season interview.
Original scouting report below:
I am writing this scouting report on 2 May 2007, just days after the 2007 NFL Draft. This time next year, all the top NFL Draft Websites are going to be singing the praise of Heath Benedict after he gets drafted in the 3rd round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Of course that is speculation, making such a bold statement before a single snap has been played in the 2008 football season. I am not the only one that likes Benedict’s Pro Potential; my friends over at Walter’s Football Site have him in the second round of their impressive 2008 NFL Mock Draft.
Benedict was thinking about entering the 2007 NFL Draft, even submitting for an evaluation to the NFL’s College Advisory Committee to evaluate his draft status. Newberry coach Zak Willis told him that if he was projected as a third round pick or higher, he (Benedict) should enter the draft.
Benedict, who originally signed with
Benedict decided to return to Newberry for his final year, he was graded out by the NFL as a 6th or 7th rounder, probably due to his entering the draft early and his small school (Division II) pedigree, but not because of talent.
The Jacksonville Jaguars actually gave him an "unofficial" workout after the 2006 season, thinking he was going to enter the 2007 NFL Draft. He weighed in at 6' 5.5" 332 pounds and ran a 4.92 forty yard dash. His arms were measured at 34" and he scored a 31 on the Wonderlic test. He also benched 225 pounds 28 times. Benedict also has a 435 pound bench, 625 pound squat, and power clean of 330 pounds. Don't worry, the workout will not effect his eligibility as no money or favors were discussed or given, and he has never negotiated with an agent.
Benedict was named to the AP’s Little All-America first team after helping the Indians (11-2) to their first Division II South Atlantic Conference title and NCAA playoff berth. The Little All-America team honors players not part of college football’s largest divisions, I-A and I-AA.
Last season (2006) Benedict was one of the top players in Division II once again, being selected as a first team D2Football.com All-American, he was also an All-South Atlantic Conference first team offensive lineman and a finalist for the prestigious Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award. He was also the winner of the Jacobs Award as the best blocker.
In 2005 he played in eight of nine games, and was named to the 2005 All-South Atlantic Conference first team after being named to the preseason All-SAC team the prior summer. He participated in 555 plays, and graded out at 82% with 50 knockdown blocks.
In 2004, in his first season, (redshirt freshman) at Newberry, he started every game at right tackle, participated in 802 plays and led the offensive line with 67 pancake blocks. He graded out at 86.5% for the year on passing plays.
Prior to signing with Tenessee, he was a highly decorated and recruited high school baseball and football player. As a senior, Benedict was the #1 rated player in New Jersey, playing at The Peddie School in Hightstown, and was ranked the 85th-best college prospect overall. He played in the national High School All-Star Game and earned USA Today Second-Team All-American status.
“Heath has as much talent as anybody I’ve ever seen,” commented assistant coach and co-offensive coordinator Joe Blackwell. “He can run the 40 in 4.67, and is good enough and fast enough to play both sides of the ball.” Rivals.com had his speed listed coming out of high school as 4.82 seconds, which is still fast for a 6’ 6” 300 pounder. Benedict is very athletic and multi-talented; he was also a star pitcher, with a fastball clocked at 94 mph. He led his team to a state baseball title and 21-2 record as a junior. He has tremendous upside because he never really focused on football until college, his primary sport in high school was baseball.
He was the 7th ranked prospect coming out of high school by Rivals.com. Benedict was ranked higher than Marcus McNeil (Chargers), Max Jean-Gilles (Eagles) and James Martin (Cowboys). He was heavily recruited by
NFL Draft Dog recently had a telephonic interview with Mr. Benedict, and I asked him why he left Tennessee. He said, " Tennessee was a great place, I really enjoyed it, but it was not a good fit for me. I started (at Tennessee) out at defensive tackle, then was moved to offensive guard, and then to offensive tackle. I don't have any animosity towards Tennessee, but I had connections at Newberry, and transferring to a Division II school would mean I could play right away and not lose a year of eligibility".
Benedict has incredible strength, speed and agility. He sinks his hips and moves people out of the way when run blocking, but also slides and uses his hands well in pass protection. As long as he stays healthy and out of trouble he should easily emerge as a day one pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Update: Benedict had a very good senior season and played in the 2008 Senior Bowl where he displayed the talent that was as good as any division 1 prospect. Quick feet and good power, with a solid combine performance he could be a 2nd or 3rd round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.