American football player
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| No. 57 – Philadelphia Eagles | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker / Fullback | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | (2000-05-05) May 5, 2000 (age 24) Bay City, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 231 lb (105 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Garber (MI) | ||||||
| College: | Michigan (2018–2020) Michigan State (2021–2022) | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 2023 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| |||||||
| Roster status: | Injured reserve | ||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2024 | |||||||
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Ben VanSumeren (born May 5, 2000) is an American professional football linebacker and fullback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan and Michigan State.
Early life
VanSumeren was born on May 5, 2000, and grew up in Bay City, Michigan. By age six, he declared that he was going to be a professional football player. He attended Garber High School in Essexville, playing at different points linebacker, defensive lineman, quarterback, running back and wide receiver when needed. VanSumeren played best at receiver, leading Bay County in receiving for three years, including a senior campaign that saw him post a regular season state record 81 receptions for 1,259 yards and 13 touchdowns, being named by Associated Press the division player of the year. Although initially committing to Iowa, he flipped to Michigan after receiving a late offer from them.
College career
Recruited to play fullback, VanSumeren appeared in four games for Michigan as a true freshman in 2018, preserving his redshirt status. He moved to running back in 2019, playing five games with five rushes for 20 yards and one touchdown. He moved to linebacker in 2020, playing six games but only posting seven tackles. Due to his limited playing time, he transferred to the rival Michigan State Spartans.
In his first season at Michigan State, VanSumeren played in all 13 games, but only managed to make 12 tackles. He initially entered the transfer portal in 2022, but then opted to return to the Spartans. In his final year, he saw his first significant playing time, starting 10 of 11 games and making 81 tackles with two sacks and two pass breakups. Although VanSumeren had one year of eligibility left, he opted to accept an invitation to the East–West Shrine Bowl and declared for the NFL draft.
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
231 lb (105 kg) |
31 in (0.79 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) |
4.45 s | 1.52 s | 2.53 s | 4.46 s | 7.10 s | 42.5 in (1.08 m) |
10 ft 11 in (3.33 m) |
29 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day | ||||||||||||
Despite being projected by several sources as a pick in the 2023 NFL draft, VanSumeren went unselected; afterwards, he was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent, being given a contract that included $130,000 guaranteed. He was waived on August 29, and re-signed to the practice squad. On November 5, VanSumeren was called up from the practice squad for a game against the Dallas Cowboys, and appeared on 10 special teams snaps. He was signed to the active roster on November 30. On December 25, VanSumeren recorded six tackles while playing 36 defensive snaps in a 33-25 victory over the New York Giants.
VanSumeren played in 11 games (one start) for Philadelphia in 2024, logging 3 combined tackles and 1 offensive reception for no gain. On November 29, 2024, VanSumeren suffered a season–ending knee injury during practice.
References
- "Ben VanSumeren". Michigan State Spartans.
- ^ Thompson, Lee (April 26, 2023). "When 6-year-old Ben VanSumeren said he was NFL-bound, it was more than a dream". MLive.com.
- Thompson, Lee (December 20, 2017). "Meet Ben VanSumeren, Michigan football's better-late-than-never signee". MLive.com.
- ^ Sang, Orion (October 2, 2020). "VanSumeren finding role on the defensive side". Detroit Free Press. p. B5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Katz, Jason (April 20, 2023). "Ben VanSumeren, LB, Michigan State | NFL Draft Scouting Report". Pro Football Network.
- ^ Wenzel, Matt (March 28, 2023). "Ben VanSumeren stuck with Michigan State and it pays off with shot at NFL". MLive.com.
- "2023 NFL Draft Scout Ben VanSumeren College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
- Mulcrone, Aeden (March 21, 2023). "Michigan State LB Ben VanSumeren wows on-lookers at Spartans' Pro Day". Sports Illustrated.
- Wenzel, Matt (April 20, 2023). "NFL analyst guarantees Michigan State LB Ben VanSumeren will be drafted". MLive.com.
- Erby, Glenn (May 2, 2023). "Eagles' UDFA deal with Michigan State linebacker Ben VanSumeren is for $130K guaranteed". USA Today.
- Spadaro, Dave; McPherson, Chris (August 29, 2023). "Eagles announce initial 53-man roster". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
- Boyle, Owen (August 30, 2023). "Eagles announce practice squad". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
- Erby, Glenn (November 30, 2023). "Eagles announce 4 roster moves ahead of Week 13 matchup vs. 49ers". Eagles Wire. USA Today. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- "New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles - December 25th, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
- "Ben VanSumeren 2024 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
- Williams, Charean (November 29, 2024). "Report: Ben VanSumeren out for season after injuring his knee Friday". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2024.