Arrelious Benn
No. 17
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1988-09-08) September 8, 1988 (age 35)
Washington, D. C., U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school:Dunbar (Washington, D.C.)
College:Illinois
NFL draft:2010 / Round: 2 / Pick: 39
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:65
Receiving yards:990
Receiving average:15.2
Receiving touchdowns:6
Player stats at NFL.com

Arrelious Markus Benn (born September 8, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini.

High school career

A native of Washington, DC, Benn attended Dunbar High School in the Truxton Circle neighborhood, where he was teammates with Vontae Davis and Nate Bussey. Benn played wide receiver, running back, safety, and linebacker in high school, and was named a First-team High School All-American his senior season. That year, Benn caught 56 passes for 1,039 yards and nine touchdowns, the first Dunbar player to ever crack the 1,000 yard mark. During his junior season in high school, Benn caught 50 passes for 1,147 yards and 17 touchdowns. Following his high school career, Benn was invited to play in the 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.[1]

Regarded as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Benn was ranked as the No. 5 wide receiver prospect in the class of 2007, behind Ronald Johnson, Terrence Toliver, Chris Culliver, and Dwight Jones.[2] Benn chose Illinois over Maryland, Notre Dame, Miami (FL), and Florida State.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Arrelious Benn
WR 		Washington D.C. Dunbar 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 4.5 Nov 9, 2006 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 84
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 12   Rivals: 24  ESPN: 17
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Illinois Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  • "2007 Illinois Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  • "2007 PLAYER COMMITS". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  • "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015.

College career

During his freshman season, Benn caught 43 passes for 521 yards (54 passes for 676 yards including the Rose Bowl appearance by Illinois that season); this was the team high for the season and a school record for a freshman. Benn also added 158 yards on 32 carries on the ground, along with returning 10 kickoffs for 280 yards, including a 90-yard kickoff return for touchdown against Penn State, one of his two touchdowns that day.[3] He was named the 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.[4]

During his sophomore campaign, Benn's stats improved to 67 rec and a Big Ten-leading 1055 yards, along with 3 touchdowns through the air, and also contributed to the run game with 101 yards on 23 carries, with 2 rushing touchdowns. On August 10, 2009, Benn was named to the Walter Camp "Players to Watch" list for its prestigious Player of the Year award, the nation's fourth-oldest individual college football accolade. On August 12, 2009, Benn was named to 2009 Biletnikoff Trophy Watch list.

As a junior, Benn suffered a right ankle sprain in the season opener against Missouri,[5] and played injured the rest of the season, appearing in all 12 games, but accumulating only 38 receptions for 490 yards and two touchdowns through the air, to go with 7 carries for 23 yards and one touchdown on the ground.[6]

On December 16, 2009, following his junior season, Arrelious Benn announced his decision to enter the 2010 NFL Draft.[7]

College awards and honors

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 1 in
(1.85 m) 		219 lb
(99 kg) 		32+1⁄4 in
(0.82 m) 		9+3⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.42 s 1.52 s 2.60 s 4.32 s 6.78 s 37.5 in
(0.95 m)		 10 ft 1 in
(3.07 m)		 20 reps 11
All values from NFL Combine/Illinois Pro Day[8][9]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Benn was drafted in the second round, pick 39 overall, by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[10]

Philadelphia Eagles

On March 15, 2013, Benn was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, along with a 7th-round pick, for a 2013 6th-round pick and a 2014 conditional pick.[11] On March 21, 2013, Benn signed a one-year contract extension through 2014. On August 6, 2013, Benn tore his ACL.[12] On August 7, 2013, Benn was placed on the Injured Reserve list, which officially ended his 2013 season.[13] He was released by the Eagles on May 16, 2014. Benn was re-signed by Philadelphia on May 19. Benn was placed on injured reserve on August 30, 2014. He was waived with an injury settlement on September 6.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Benn signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on January 5, 2015.[14] On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Jaguars, but re-signed with the team a day later.[15][16] The season-opening game marked the first time that Benn had been on an active NFL roster in three years.[17] He scored a 51-yard touchdown in Week 6 against the Chicago Bears after catching a simple slant route, sliding to catch the pass, then getting up and running to the end zone without being touched.[18] This was Benn's first touchdown reception since 2011.

On February 15, 2017, the Jaguars re-signed Benn to a one-year deal with a second year option.[19] He was placed on injured reserve on November 18, 2017, with a knee injury.[20]

On February 20, 2018, the Jaguars declined the option on Benn's contract, making him a free agent.[21]

References

  1. ^ "2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl Roster". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 24, 2007.
  2. ^ "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
  3. ^ Gary Klein, USC-Illinois accents Rose Bowl tradition, Los Angeles Times, December 3, 2007.
  4. ^ "2007 Big Ten Awards - Mendenhall, O'Donnell, Benn, Leman, V Davis, Zook [Archive] - Fighting Illini Forums". www.illinoisloyalty.com. September 8, 2023.
  5. ^ "Don't forget about me". ESPN. September 30, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  6. ^ "Arrelious Benn". Sports-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  7. ^ Ryan, Shannon (December 17, 2009), "Illinois' Arrelious Benn heading to the NFL", Chicago Tribune, archived from the original on December 20, 2009, retrieved December 21, 2009
  8. ^ "Arrelious Benn Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
  9. ^ "2010 Draft Scout Arrelious Benn, Illinois NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  10. ^ "2010 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  11. ^ "Eagles Acquire WR Arrelious Benn". Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  12. ^ Wesseling, Chris (August 6, 2013). "Arrelious Benn tears ACL; Philadelphia Eagles thinner". NFL.com. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  13. ^ McPherson, Chris (August 7, 2013). "Arrelious Benn Placed On Injured Reserve". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  14. ^ "Jaguars sign three players to reserve/future contracts". Jaguars.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  15. ^ Oehser, John (September 3, 2016). "Down to 53: LB Davis, OG Bernadeau released". Jaguars.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017.
  16. ^ Oehser, John (September 4, 2016). "Jaguars claim LB Brown, S Huff". Jaguars.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017.
  17. ^ Day, Ryan (September 10, 2016). "Jaguars Daily: Benn is (finally) on active roster". Big Cat Country. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  18. ^ ago, Larry Brake4 months (October 18, 2016). "Jacksonville Jaguars: Third catch is a winning catch for Arrelious Benn". Black and Teal. Retrieved February 15, 2017.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Oehser, John (February 15, 2017). "Jaguars re-sign Arrelious Benn under contract". Jaguars.com.
  20. ^ "Jaguars make roster moves". Jaguars.com. November 18, 2017.
  21. ^ Williams, Charean (February 20, 2018). "Report: Jaguars decline contract options for Mychal Rivera, Arrelious Benn". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.

External links

Walter Payton Trophy winners
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2010 NFL Draft selections
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