Ben Utecht: A Man for Any Season

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Ben Utecht is more than just a football player. Off the field, Ben is a Christian recording artist. His passion for music and sports came from his parents. “I grew up in a family that loved athletics and that was also musically gifted,” Ben tells The 700 Club. “I was drawn to it." The son of a Methodist minister, Ben became a Christian when he was eight. As he grew older, he got bigger – much bigger. So while he knew he would always love music, it became clear that football would be his main pursuit. “The Lord just continued to open those doors for me athletically,” he says. “It seemed to be what was easiest for me at that time. That’s when my junior year rolled around, and I started to realize after getting recruited by colleges that, man, this could be a really great opportunity for me to play football at a university.” Ben accepted a scholarship to play football for his beloved Minnesota Golden Gophers. He was an immediate success on the field, which made life off the field more difficult than he expected. “I believe I went into college a little naïve to what I was going to face in the real world. Unfortunately, I got into the party scene a little bit and faced the temptations of drinking and relationships with women who couldn’t care less about my spiritual caliber.” Entering his junior season, Ben ranked in the top three among all tight ends in the country. A future in the NFL was within reach. But an injury forced him to the sidelines. “I remember that fourth game versus Purdue making a break on one of my routes and feeling a pop in my foot. It’s probably the first time I looked up at God with anger and said, ‘I don’t get You!’” While in rehab, he met a trainer who was a Christian. He recalls, “She pulled me aside after one of the practices and said, ‘The Lord has come to me in my prayer time and given me a message for you: you need to tell Ben [that] he’s not giving me something.’ At that point, it could have been anything. I was straddling the fence between the world and the kingdom. I was trying to live my life for Christ, but at the same time, I was going down by my lifestyle and making some poor decisions. I just remember going back to my room just weeping.” Ben soon realized what the trainer meant. He says, “It just was so clear to me what I had not given the Lord and it was me!” Ben refocused his priorities and started getting his life back on track. Then came another setback. He was injured again his senior season and wasn’t selected in the NFL draft. But he remembered a promise from a fellow Minnesota alum and then head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. “I had a chance to speak at an Athletes in Action event with Tony Dungy two months prior to the NFL draft. I razzed him a little bit saying, ‘Hey Coach! Us University of Minnesota alumni, we take care of each other. So, hey, if you want to draft me early, go right ahead.’ He said, ‘Ben, I promise you one thing. If for some reason you slip through the cracks, which I don’t think you will, I promise I’ll be the first to call.’” Dungy kept his promise, and Ben signed with the Colts. His dream of playing in the NFL finally became a reality. Ben went on to start in the Colts historic Super Bowl victory in 2007. But it turned out that football wasn’t the only plan God had for Ben. “I never prayed for success in music,” he says. “I always just said, ‘Lord, music is a passion of mine. If it’s something You want me to pursue, please bring the right people into my life.’” That’s just what happened. After singing at a youth rally in Indiana, Ben was approached by Christian recording artist Sandy Patti who had been in the audience and loved Ben’s voice. Through her connections with Bill and Gloria Gaither and others, Ben recorded his debut self-titled album. “God’s timing is so perfect. The music never would have happened if it wasn’t for coming to Indiana to play for the Colts. God is so good, and his timing has been so intricate through this whole process.” Now with Cincinnati, Ben hopes to lead the Bengals to the playoffs, but success on the football field or acclaim as a musician doesn’t define Ben Utecht. His newest role, as a dad has taught him how to keep everything in perspective. “I remember when my wife Karyn gave birth to Elleora, thinking, ‘You are so amazing! I’m never going to let you go! I’m going to grip you so tight, and no one is ever going to take you from me. I’m your dad and that’s my job!’ I guess I never really understood the depth of it. Here I am as a human father saying, ‘There’s no way I’m ever going to let you go,’ but in an instant God gave us His Son as a sacrifice so that we might have eternal life. I realized at that point how amazing it. I might be a football player and a musician by trade, but my identity is not in that. My identity is in Christ.”