PETE IACOBELLI (AP)
March 28, 2008 - 12:15 a.m. EST

NEWBERRY — Heath Benedict, a two-time Little All-American at Newberry College on his way to the NFL, was found dead on a couch in his Jacksonville, Fla., home.

Authorities said Thursday don't suspect foul play in Benedict's death. Newberry administrators added that police didn't think drugs or alcohol were involved, either.

Benedict, a 6-foot-6, 326-pound offensive lineman, finished up his senior season in the fall and left school to train for next month's NFL draft. He was nine hours short of a business degree.

"He was a big, tough man, but he had a very gentle heart," Newberry president Mick Zais said. "He was a teddy bear."

Benedict's body was taken to a medical examiner's office to determine the cause of death.

The 24-year-old took part in the Senior Bowl in January, the first Division II player to do so since 2004, and was invited to last month's NFL combine.

There, trainers and doctors put Benedict through extensive tests, Newberry coach Zak Willis said, particularly because he hurt an ankle late last season.

Nothing unusual was uncovered, Willis said. "This is certainly a shock to all of us," he said.

Some NFL draft predictions had Benedict being selected as high as the third round.

The coach said he learned of Benedict's death Wednesday from one of his players. Soon after, Benedict's father called to confirm the tragic news.

"This is probably one of the toughest days I've ever had as a human being," said Willis, his eyes red.

Benedict was a native of the Netherlands. He played high school football at the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J. His family also has a home in Greenville, which is about 60 miles northwest of Newberry.

Benedict was a transfer from Tennessee who helped turn the Indians into a Division II powerhouse. The pinnacle came in 2006 when Newberry won the South Atlantic Conference title and earned its first-ever berth to the NCAA playoffs.

Benedict considered going pro after that season. However, he was having so much fun, Willis said, he was eager to return for his senior season.

Despite Newberry's small size of 920 students, Benedict's enormous talent didn't escape the pro scouts. Sports information director Josh Manck said about every NFL team sent scouts to watch him.

Willis, a former assistant at the University of South Carolina who coached future NFL players in tailback Duce Staley, linebacker John Abraham and receiver Marcus Robinson, thought Benedict had the makeup and talent to play a decade or more in pro ball.

"If he had stayed at Tennessee, he'd be a first-round draft pick, I have no doubt," Willis said.

In a 2006 interview with The Associated Press, Benedict said Tennessee's large campus didn't suit him. He needed somewhere he could get "more one-on-one" attention from professors, counselors and coaches."

He apparently found that at Newberry.

Nick Martin, an outfielder with school's baseball team, remembered first meeting Benedict in the weight room.

"Here's this really big guy laughing with me," Martin said. "I thought, 'If he wanted to, he could crush me.' But he was the nicest guy you wanted to meet."

Newberry's campus is on spring break. The college president said grief counselors will be available when school starts Monday. A campus memorial service was scheduled for Tuesday.

Zais said Benedict's loss stretches beyond the football team and will take time to absorb. "At a small school like Newberry, everybody knows everybody," he said.

Willis' players are scheduled to open spring football drills Monday. The best way to handle their emotions, the coach said, will be to work just as hard in Benedict's honor.

Everyone on campus, though, will continually wonder.

"It was all about to happen for him," said Newberry pitcher and friend, Brandon Petty. "And then this."