Cincinnati Bengals 2009 Media Guide.indb - Bengals Home
Cincinnati Bengals 2009 Media Guide.indb - Bengals Home
Cincinnati Bengals 2009 Media Guide.indb - Bengals Home
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BEN UTECHT<br />
Utecht joined <strong>Bengals</strong> in ’08 as a restricted free agent<br />
from Indianapolis, but was limited by injuries for much of<br />
the season … Played 10 games with six starts, catching 16<br />
passes for 123 yards … Caught 68-for-741 over his final<br />
two seasons with Colts, including 37-for-377 in 2006,<br />
when he started 19 of 20 games (including postseason) for<br />
Super Bowl XLI champs … His fi rst two pro catches went<br />
for TDs … Entered NFL as a college free agent.<br />
2008 RECAP: Signed offer sheet with <strong>Cincinnati</strong><br />
on March 14, and his restricted free agent move became<br />
official on March 21, when Indianapolis declined to match<br />
… Played in Games 1-2, 4-6, 9-12 and 16 … Missed<br />
Games 3 and 7-8 due to chest injury suffered early in<br />
first quarter Sept. 14 vs. Tennessee, and missed Games<br />
13-15 due to foot injury suffered Nov. 30 vs. Baltimore<br />
… Had two catches for 10 yards in <strong>Bengals</strong> debut Sept. 7<br />
at Baltimore … Had season high in catches (four), for 34<br />
yards, on Oct. 12 at N.Y. Jets … On Nov. 20 at Pittsburgh,<br />
caught three passes for a season-best 36 yards.<br />
PREVIOUS SEASONS: 2004—Signed April 30 with<br />
Indianapolis as college free agent … Did not see game action;<br />
spent season on Reserve/Non-Football Injury list due<br />
to continued rehab from sports hernia suffered in 2003 in<br />
college play. 2005—Played in 12 games for Colts, with<br />
two starts … Made NFL debut in a starting role Sept. 11<br />
at Baltimore, and had a 26-yard TD catch in 24-7 win …<br />
Had another TD on his second pro catch, a 14-yarder on<br />
1-1-06 vs. Arizona. 2006—Played and started 15 games<br />
in regular season, missing one game due to injury, and<br />
started all four postseason games for World Champion<br />
Colts … Had career bests of 37 catches and 377 yards<br />
… Posted career highs of seven catches and 66 yards on<br />
Nov. 12 vs. Buffalo … Caught five passes for 41 yards in<br />
81<br />
Tight End<br />
Ht: 6-6<br />
Wt: 245<br />
5th year in NFL<br />
College: Minnesota<br />
2008 Games-Starts: 10-6<br />
Career Games-Starts: 51-36<br />
— 97 —<br />
Acquired: RFA(Ind.)’08<br />
Born: 6-30-81<br />
BEN UTECHT’S STATISTICS<br />
Receiving Rushing Scoring<br />
YEAR TEAM G-S NO YDS AVG LG TD ATT YDS AVG LG TD TD TD-R TD-P TD-Rt 2-PtC PTS<br />
2004 Indianapolis 0-0 DID NOT PLAY* DID NOT PLAY* DID NOT PLAY*<br />
2005 Indianapolis 12-2 3 59 19.7 26t 2 — — — — — 2 0 2 0 0 12<br />
2006 Indianapolis 15-15 37 377 10.2 26 0 — — — — — 0 0 0 0 0 0<br />
2007 Indianapolis 14-13 31 364 11.7 30 1 — — — — — 1 0 1 0 0 6<br />
2008 <strong>Cincinnati</strong> 10-6 16 123 7.7 14 0 — — — — — 0 0 0 0 0 0<br />
IND. TOTALS 41-30 71 800 11.3 30 3 — — — — — 3 0 3 0 0 18<br />
CIN. TOTALS 10-6 16 123 7.7 14 0 — — — — — 0 0 0 0 0 0<br />
CAREER 51-36 87 923 10.6 30 3 — — — — — 3 0 3 0 0 18<br />
SPECIAL TEAMS STATISTICS: 1 kickoff return for 7 yards in 2005.<br />
postseason, including an eight-yarder in Super Bowl XLI<br />
win over Chicago. 2007—Played 14 games with 13 starts<br />
for Colts, catching 31-for-364 with a TD … His five-yard<br />
TD catch Nov. 22 at Atlanta gave Colts 21-13 lead in an<br />
eventual 31-13 win … Had season high of 47 receiving<br />
yards in win Dec. 2 vs. Jacksonville, including his second<br />
30-yard gain of the year … Had a 20-yard catch in AFC<br />
Divisional Playoff on 1-13-08 vs. San Diego.<br />
COLLEGE: Played four seasons (2000-03) at Minnesota,<br />
with 35 starts among his 44 games … Career totals<br />
of 83 catches for 1211 yards (14.6 avg.), with 15 TDs …<br />
Semifinalist as a senior for NCAA’s John Mackey Award<br />
(top college TE) … Led team in TDs (six) as a junior, and<br />
his 37-for-480 totals included seven catches and a TD in<br />
Music City Bowl … Did not play in 1999.<br />
NOTE-WORTHY: A talented singer and songwriter<br />
in the field of Christian music, Utecht had a debut CD<br />
released this past spring by Stylos Records. His work has<br />
drawn enthusiastic reviews, and he performed in June of<br />
’09 with the <strong>Cincinnati</strong> Pops Orchestra.<br />
PERSONAL: <strong>Home</strong>town is Hastings, Minn. … Attended<br />
Hastings High School, where he earned SuperPrep<br />
All-Midwest honors at tight end and was also all-state as<br />
a punter … Helped lead his high school hockey team to<br />
state title game as a goalie … A National Honor Society<br />
student in high school, he won numerous awards for<br />
musical and artistic excellence, and he sang the national<br />
nnthem at Colts-Buffalo preseason game on 8-28-04 …<br />
Active in community service, he has visited schools and<br />
hospitals, and assisted with Special Olympics clinic …<br />
Married (wife Karyn) … Communications studies major at<br />
Minnesota … Last name is pronounced “YEW-tek.”<br />
(continued)<br />
STAFF<br />
ROSTERS<br />
VETERANS<br />
<strong>2009</strong> DRAFT CHOICES<br />
COLLEGE FREE AGENTS<br />
2008 REVIEW<br />
HISTORY RECORDS STADIUM , NFL & MEDIA
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