Tragic. Unfair. Senseless. These are just some of the words that come to mind when one hears about a young life being ended before it has a chance to blossom into what we all hope it can. McEachern running back Rajaan Bennett was shot and killed early Thursday morning by his mother’s ex-boyfriend, who then turned the gun on himself. This is not the first tragedy to befall Bennett’s family, as Rajaan was forced to become the man of the house after his father passed away when Bennett was just in middle school. Bennett helped his mother in caring for Bennett’s three younger siblings. At McEachern, Bennett not only starred on the football field but in the classroom and with his fellow students. At today’s news conference, McEachern’s principal Regina Montgomery said of her former student, “We have a population of 2,200 kids, and when you’re Rajaan Bennett, you touch the lives of all 2,200.”
Just two weeks ago the star running back signed a letter of intent to attend Vanderbilt and play football after leading McEachern to a region title as he rushed for 1857 yards and scoring 28 TDs. He carried the ball 236 times as a senior captain in Kyle Hockman’s Pistol Offense. Several recruiting services ranked Bennett as not only the Commodores best prospect in this class but perhaps in all of coach Bobby Johnson’s tenure. Said Johnson of Bennett’s passing, “All of us at Vanderbilt are devastated by news of Rajaan’s death. This is just so tragic to everybody that knew and loved Rajaan. Rajaan was an extraordinary young man and an ideal fit for Vanderbilt University.” Vanderbilt Associate Director of Student Athletics Brian Reese spoke to the Tennessean newspaper, saying, “We are extremely saddened by the news and we’re praying for Rajaan’s family during this time. It’s a terrible loss because he was such a fine young man.”
On a personal level, I had the pleasure of talking to Bennett twice during the recruiting process and my co-host on Score Atlanta’s Official Visit Scott Janovitz noted, he was so knowledgeable about the pistol offense and his role in [the offense], he seemed to be MADE for that offense. His coach Kyle Hockman was also a guest and said of Bennett that the back would be good in any offense because of his skills. Bennett however clearly benefited once Hockman came in as coach of the Indians two seasons ago, going from relative unknown to future SEC tailback. The team’s success also skyrocketed after Hockman started calling the shots and employed his new offense. Last season McEachern went 9-0 in Region 5-AAAAA and 10-0 in the regular season before falling to Brookwood in the first round of the state playoffs, despite Bennett’s 136 yards rushing.
This season was interesting in that two of the best senior tailbacks in the state were both named Rajaan/Rajion. On The Official Visit, we had numerous discussions on the debate of “who is the best Rajaan/Rajion in the state?” Bennett routinely rushed for over 100 yards, going for 141 and 2 scores against North Cobb and scoring twice against Etowah. In any list, be it Scout.com or the GHSF Daily or AJC, Bennett was always one of the top players, not just tailbacks, in the state. In fact, in wrapping up National Signing Day on The Official Visit last week, Bennett was discussed as being Vanderbilt’s best signing and perhaps one of the true freshmen that could potentially make an impact next season.
But now he is gone.
My lasting memory of Rajaan will be that of him nearly single-handedly bringing his team back in the second half against Woodstock from this past season. Woodstock had flexed its defensive muscle all throughout the first half and seemed to be ready to just sit back, let the running back from McEachern get some yards while they nursed a lead. Bennett wouldn’t let that happen. He took off on one long 42-yard score to start the comeback. He took a screen pass nearly the distance on another drive and he finished with 3 TDs on 22 carries, good enough for 160 yards and the game-winning TD in overtime. Bennett imposed his will and got his team back in the game down 16-0 at halftime and a 31-16 game in the fourth.
This is certainly a tragic situation where we won’t be able to follow a hometown kid’s journey towards sure success at the college level. It is even sadder for his teammates and friends who all knew Rajaan better than any of us. And his family will be hit the hardest, losing not just a special football player and great student but also a caring brother and a devoted son.
Proctor can be reached at fproctor@scoreatl.com.
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