Heath Benedict, a Newberry College offensive lineman who was expected to be selected in next month's NFL draft, was found dead in his apartment in Jacksonville, Florida Wednesday night.Benedict was a 25-year-old who had transferred to Division II Newberry. He had been projected to go as high as the third round.
No cause of death has been released, but local police reportedly do not suspect drugs, alcohol or foul play.
As a teenager in New Jersey, Benedict was one of the best high school offensive lineman in the country, and he took a football scholarship to Tennessee. But he was unhappy there and left school as a freshman. Newberry, a small school in Newberry, South Carolina, then convinced him to enroll, and he became a Division II All-American.
"Right now, we're all just trying to figure out what to do," Newberry College assistant football coach Ike Allred told The State. "Obviously, we're all just praying for Heath and his family at this time."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-28-2008 @ 3:42AM
Jane said...
It is just so sad. He was such a young man who had great potential in front of him whether in football which I imagine he loved or just in everyday life. My heart goes out to his family in dealing with this huge loss.
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