Michael Bennett (defensive tackle)

Michael Bennett

No. 71     Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Defensive end
Personal information
Date of birth: November 13, 1985 (1985-11-13) (age 26)
Place of birth: Avondale, Louisiana
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Weight: 274 lb (124 kg)
Career information
College: Texas A&M
Undrafted in 2009
Debuted in 2009 for the Seattle Seahawks
Career history
Seattle Seahawks (2009) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
No notable achievements
Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2011
Tackles	34
Sacks	4.0
Forced Fumbles	1
INTs	0
Stats at NFL.com

Michael Bennett, Jr. (born November 13, 1985) is an American football defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Texas A&M.

He is the brother of Dallas Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett.

Early years

Bennett earned first-team All-District honors as a defensive lineman as a senior at Alief Taylor High School in Houston, Texas, after compiling 110 tackles and four quarterback sacks. He earned honorable mention All-District honors as a junior.

College career

In 2008, Bennett played in 11 games and made 42 tackles with 12.5 for losses and 2.5 sacks. In 2007, he was selected to the honorable mention All-Big 12 team at defensive end after registered 43 tackles including six tackles for a loss of yardage. In 2006 he the team's top tackler among defenders that did not start a game—he posted 27 tackles, including two sacks and 6 tackles for loss, while seeing action in every game. He also forced a pair of fumbles and batted down a pass. In 2005, as a freshman, he made 27 tackles, including 3.5 quarterback sacks, while seeing action in all 11 games (4 starts).

Professional career

Pre-draft

At the NFL combine Bennett measured 6-3½ and 274 pounds and did 24 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, had a 31" vertical jump and a 9'2" broad jump. He ran a 5.00 forty-yard dash with a 10-yard split of 1.62 and a 20-yard split of 2.84.

Seattle Seahawks

Bennett was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks on April 27, 2009.^[1] An NFL Draft analyst noted that Bennett was not drafted probably due to his inconsistent performance in college. The team initially believed he could serve at left defensive end. After working with coaches during training camp, he was moved to the inside as a pass-rushing tackle.^[2][3][4] During the preseason, he compiled nine tackles, two sacks, five QB hurries, a tipped pass and a fumble recovery.^[5] He made the final roster by the end of the preseason.^[6][7]

Bennett was waived by the Seahawks on October 10, 2009 in order to make room for offensive tackle Kyle Williams, who was signed off of the practice squad.^[8]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bennett was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 12, 2009. Tampa Bay switched him back to defensive tackle, and he became a key part of the defense filling in for the injured Gerald McCoy.

References

1. ^ "A Seahawks sleeper: Rookie Bennett making his mark". http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlesports/archives/177771.asp. 
2. ^ "Seahawks rookie tackles new role". http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/864574.html?source=rss. 
3. ^ O'Neil, Danny (September 2, 2009). "Undrafted Michael Bennett showing size isn't everything on Seahawks' defensive line". The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2009787055_hawks02.html. 
4. ^ O'Neil, Danny (September 2, 2009). "Michael Bennett's move inside says something about Seattle's ends". The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawksblog/2009793767_michael_bennett.html. 
5. ^ "Monday Morning QB". http://blog.seahawks.com/2009/09/07/monday-morning-qb-3/. 
6. ^ "Seahawks final 53-man roster". http://blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks/2009/09/05/seahawks-final-53-man-roster/. 
7. ^ "Poster players for perseverance". http://www.seahawks.com/news/articles/article-1/Poster-players-for-perseverance/a74c7264-9e7d-42b6-aa1c-c4b50b95e751. 
8. ^ "Seahawks add OT Williams, release DL Bennett". http://blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks/2009/10/10/seahawks-add-ot-williams-release-dl-bennett/. 

External links

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
• Texas A&M Aggies bio