Ben Needham (American football)
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Groveport, Ohio
| No. 83, 97, 59 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker |
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 19, 1958[1] Groveport, Ohio |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Groveport Madison (OH) |
| College | Michigan |
| NFL draft | 1982: 7th round, 194 (By the Cincinnati Bengals)th overall pick |
| Career history | |
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| Awards and highlights | |
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Bennett Lee Needham (born November 19, 1958) is an American former football linebacker. He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1978 to 1979 and in 1981 and professional football in the United States Football League (USFL) for the Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers from 1983 to 1985. He was selected by the Sporting News as a first-team USFL All-League player in 1983.
Needham was born on November 19, 1958, in Groveport, Ohio. He attended Groveport Madison High School,[2][3] graduating in 1977.[4]
University of Michigan
Needham enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1977 and played college football as a linebacker for head coach Bo Schembechler's Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1978 to 1979 and in 1981.[2] In 1978, he started two games at outside linebacker and one at inside linebacker and registered 23 tackles.[5] In 1979, he started 11 games at outside linebacker for Michigan,[6] registering 46 tackles with one pass breakup and one fumble recovery.[7] He was suspended from the team in March 1980.[8] In 1981, he returned to the team and started 10 games at outside linebacker,[9] totaling 71 tackles, two pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery.[7]