 Bennett atDuke in 1980 | |||||||||||
| No. 14, 16, 5 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1962-05-05)May 5, 1962 (age 63) Sunnyvale, California, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Peterson (Sunnyvale) | ||||||||||
| College | Duke | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1984: 6th round, 148th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
As a Player
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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| Career Arena League statistics | |||||||||||
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Allen Beverly "Ben"Bennett II (born May 5, 1962) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys,Cincinnati Bengals andChicago Bears. He also was a member of theJacksonville Bulls,Chicago Bruisers,Dallas Texans,Sacramento Surge,San Antonio Riders,Orlando Predators,San Jose SaberCats andPortland Forest Dragons. He was a football coach in theArena Football League (AFL),af2, andNational Arena League (NAL). He playedcollege football for theDuke Blue Devils, earning third teamAll-American honors in 1983.
Bennett attendedPeterson High School inSunnyvale, California, where he was the starter atquarterback.[1] He was theteam captain and a highly recruited player as a senior. In his high school career he set 18 school records and 9Santa Clara Valley Athletic League records.
Bennett accepted a football scholarship fromDuke University under then-head coachShirley "Red" Wilson andoffensive coordinatorSteve Spurrier.[2]
He was voted ACC "Rookie of the Year" and twice named the ACC "Offensive Player of the Week". His best individual game was againstWake Forest University, setting three NCAA freshman records by completing 38 of 62 passes for 469 yards. He finished the season with 174 of 330 completions for 2,050 yards, 11 touchdowns and a school record 25 interceptions.[3]
In1981, he injured his shoulder during the season opener, missing the next three games and he also had to overcome a challenge for the starting job from backup Ron Sally.[3] Hepunted against theUniversity of South Carolina twice for an average of 41 yards. He came back againstVirginia Tech and completed 9 of 16 passes for 113 yards with one touchdown.
He had his best games againstMaryland (31 of 46 for 397 yards and 2 touchdowns) andClemson University (17 of 25 for 243 yards and one touchdown). In nine games, he completed 110 of 202 passes for 1,445 yards, with 7 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
In1982, he became the first player in the ACC in its 30 years history to pass for over 3,000 yards with 3,033, receiving ACCPlayer of the Year andAll-ACC honors. He set numerous records, including ACC career marks for most passing yards (6,528), most passes attempted (906), most passes completed (520), and most touchdown passes (38). He was namedSports Illustrated's Offensive Player of the Week following the season finale againstUniversity of North Carolina while passing for 273 yards, completing 25 of 34 passes, with one touchdown and no interceptions.
In the 4th quarter againstNavy, he completed an NCAA record 21 passes with three touchdowns. He threw at least one touchdown pass in every game. Bennett had a completion percentage of 63.1 and apassing efficiency rating of 142.5. In 11 games, he completed 236 of 374 attempts for 3,033 yards with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.[4]
In1983, he completed 300 of 469 pass attempts for 3,086 yards with 17 touchdowns and one interception, averaging 280.54 yards per game.[5]
Bennett completed hiscollegiate career as the top passer in the history ofNCAADivision I-A football, with the most passes attempted (1,375), most passes completed (820), and most yardage (9,614), surpassing marks set byJohn Elway andJim McMahon. He left with 7NCAA, 15ACC and 42 school records.[2]
In 2011, he was inducted into theDuke University Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was a member of the ACC Legends Class.[6]
Bennett was selected by theAtlanta Falcons in the 6th round (148th overall) of the1984 NFL draft.[7][8] On May 5, he instead chose to sign with theJacksonville Bulls of theUnited States Football League, who selected him in the1984 territorial draft.[9] He was a backup behindRobbie Mahfouz andMatt Robinson. He appeared in 2 games, completing 7 of 13 passes for 113 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. On February 7,1985, he was released after the signing ofBrian Sipe.[10]
On February 26,1985, he was signed by the Falcons to participate in theirtraining camp.[11] He was waived on August 4.[12] In1986, he signed as afree agent with theHouston Oilers. He was cut on August 25.[13]
After theNFLPA strike was declared on the third week of the1987 season, those contests were canceled (reducing the 16-game season to 15) and theNFL decided that the games would be played with replacement players. He was signed to be a part of the Dallas replacement team that was given the mock name "Rhinestone Cowboys" by the media on October 1.[14] He was a backupquarterback and didn't appear in any game. He was cut on October 7. On October 9, he was claimed off waivers by theCincinnati Bengals. He played in one game, completing 2 of 6 passes for 25 yards with one interception. He wasn't re-signed after the season.
In1988, he was signed by theChicago Bruisers of theArena Football League after performing well at a tryout camp.[15] Under head coachPerry Moss, he finished the season completing 172 of 323 passes for 2,304 yards with 49 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He was named First-team All-Arena team at QB and was also named the league's Most Valuable Player.[15] On November 29,1988, he was signed as afree agent by theChicago Bears to backupJim Harbaugh, afterJim McMahon was placed on theinjured reserve list andMike Tomczak was out with a separated shoulder.[16] He was active for two games as a backupquarterback. He wasn't re-signed after the season.
In1989, the Bruisers suspended operations. During the shortened season, he was the league's top-ranked passer, posting 69 of 127 completions for 808 yards with 14 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
In1990, Bennett began the year with theAlbany Firebirds. On May 14, he was traded to theDallas Texans.[17] He appeared in all 8 games where he led the team to theArenaBowl IV. During the season, he completed 115 of 220 attempts for 1,149 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. He was named second-team All-Arena.
In1991, he was selected by theSacramento Surge in the first round of theWorld League of American Football draft.[18] He was a backup behindMike Elkins and was released on April 9.[19] In April, he was signed by theSan Antonio Riders, where he was a backup behindMike Johnson andJason Garrett.
On June 5,1991, he was signed by theDallas Texans of theArena Football League.[20] On July 3, he was traded to the expansionOrlando Predators in exchange fordefensive tackle Keith Williams, reuniting with head coachPerry Moss.[21] He replaced starterReggie Collier, finishing the season with 42 of 81 passes for 540 yards with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.[15]
In1992, he completed 145 of 264 passes for 2,092 yards with 41 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The greatest feat of his career the "Miracle Minute", a historic comeback in a game against theDetroit Drive on June 19. In that game, he threw two touchdown passes and two 2-point conversions in the final 49 seconds of the game, all toBarry Wagner. Wagner then got a game-winning safety, completing a comeback from a 32–42 deficit to a 50–49 win. Bennett led the Predators to theArenaBowl VI, where they were beaten by the Drive.[22]
In1993, he completed 180 of 340 yards for 2,515 yards with 50 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In1994, he completed 166 of 245 passes for 2,211 yards with 45 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.[23] In1995, he completed 91 of 149 passes for 1,111 yards with 20 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. For both the1993 and1994 season, Bennett was named first-team All-Arena. He would also lead the Predators to a total of threeArenaBowls, losing all three.
For the1996 season, Bennett played for theSan Jose SaberCats, completing 26 of 55 passes for 376 yards with 4 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. In1997, he played for thePortland Forest Dragons, completing 63 of 124 passes for 792 yards with 14 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He retired at the end of the year after suffering a neck injury.[2]
During his AFL playing career, he made fiveArenaBowl appearances and was inducted into theArena Football Hall of Fame on May 24, 2000. He also was inducted into the Predators Ring of Honor.
In 1998, he was signed as an assistant coach by theMilwaukee Mustangs. In December 1998, he was named an assistant coach atDuke University.[24] In three seasons as a head coach in the af2, Bennett has compiled a record of 36-18 (including playoffs). His win total is the third highest among active coaches and tenth best All-time. Bennett's coaching resume also includes stints as an assistant with theFlorida Bobcats (AFL, 2001), theGreensboro Prowlers (af2, 2000), and theMilwaukee Mustangs (AFL, 1998).
Bennett built and led theFlorida Firecats of the af2 to twoArenaCup championship games during the 2002 and 2004 seasons, winning the 2004 ArenaCup championship. In 2005, he transformed theManchester Wolves from a 5–11 team in 2004 into the East Division champion in his first season. He guided the Wolves to a franchise-best 12-win season, finishing 12–5 overall. The team's season also included a 10-game win streak and a trip to the second round of the af2 playoffs.
Bennett was to be the head coach for theOrlando Fantasy during the 2010 season, but he decided that it wasn't a job he was interested in.[25]
In 2011, he was theoffensive coordinator of theArena Football League'sNew Orleans VooDoo, but he was dismissed three games into the season.[2] In 2012, he was namedoffensive coordinator of theArena Football League'sOrlando Predators.[26]
He was named the head coach of the re-launchedOrlando Predators in theNational Arena League for the 2020 season.[27] The 2020 season was cancelled due to the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic, but Bennett returned for the 2021 season where he led the team to 4–4 record and a playoff spot. He left the Predators after the season.[28]