Fifth-year pro suffered concussion in practice on Aug. 5 ... Missed first three preseason games, and placed Aug. 31 on Reserve/Injured list.
2009 HIGHLIGHTS: Fifth-year pro suffered concussion in practice on Aug. 5 ... Missed
first three preseason games, and placed Aug. 31 on Reserve/Injured list.
PREVIOUS SEASONS: 2008 - Bengals signing became official on March 21, when
Indianapolis Colts declined to match Cincinnati’s offer sheet ...
Played in Games 1-2, 4-6, 9-12 and 16 ... Missed Games 3 and 7-8, due
to chest injury suffered early in first quarter Sept. 14 vs. Tennessee,
and missed Games 13-15 due to foot injury suffered Nov. 30 vs.
Baltimore ... Had two catches for 10 yards in Bengals debut Sept. 7 at
Baltimore ... Had season high in catches (four), with 34 yards, Oct. 12
at N.Y. Jets ... On Nov. 2 vs. Jacksonville, had two receptions for 21
yards ... On Nov. 20 at Pittsburgh, caught three passes for a
season-high 36 yards.
2007 - Played 14 games with 13 starts ... Inactive for Games 5 and 16 ... Had season-high five catches (for 31 yards) in victory Sept. 16 at Tennessee ... Caught two-for-41 in win Oct. 28 at Carolina, including tied-for-season-long 30-yarder ... His five-yard TD catch Nov. 22 at Atlanta gave Colts 21-13 lead in an eventual 31-13 win ... Had season high of 47 receiving yards in win Dec. 2 vs. Jacksonville, including his second 30-yard gain of the year ... Had a 20-yard catch in AFC Divisional Playoff on 1-13-08 vs. San Diego.
2006 - Played and started 15 games in regular season, missing one game due to injury, and started all four postseason games for Super Bowl champion Colts ... Had career bests of 37 catches and 377 yards ... Posted career highs of seven catches and 66 yards on Nov. 12 vs. Buffalo ... Caught five passes for 41 yards in postseason, including an eight-yarder in Super Bowl XLI win over Chicago.
2005 - Played in 12 games, with two starts ... Made NFL debut in a starting role Sept. 11 at Baltimore, and had a 26-yard TD catch in 24-7 win ... Had another TD on his second pro catch, a 14-yarder on 1-1-06 vs. Arizona, and was two-for-33 for the game.
2004 - Signed April 30 with Indianapolis as college free agent ... Did not see game action; spent season on Reserve/Non-Football Injury list due to continued rehab from sports hernia suffered in 2003 in college play.
NOTEWORTHY: A talented singer and songwriter in the field of Christian music, Utecht had a debut CD released this past spring by Stylos Records. His work has drawn enthusiastic reviews, and he performed in June of ’09 with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
PERSONAL: Hometown is Hastings, Minn. … Attended Hastings High School, where he earned SuperPrep All-Midwest honors at tight end and was also all-state as a punter … Helped lead his high school hockey team to state title game as a goalie … A National Honor Society student in high school, he won numerous awards for musical and artistic excellence, and he sang the national nnthem at Colts-Buffalo preseason game on 8-28-04 … Active in community service, he has visited schools and hospitals, and assisted with Special Olympics clinic … Married (wife Karyn) … Communications studies major at Minnesota … Last name is pronounced “YEW-tek.” ... Official Web site: benutecht.com.
