Benjamin David Gardner (born April 29, 1991) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

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(NFL). He played

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for the

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and was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in the seventh round of the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He was also a member of the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

Early life

Gardner graduated in 2009 from Homestead High School. As a senior in 2008–09, Gardner was a team captain and defensive end on the football team which won the Wisconsin Division I state championship. He received numerous top honors including 2008

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1st-team All-State; 2008 WFCA 1st-Team All-State; 2008 all-North Shore Conference First; and 2008 North Shore Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

College career

Stanford Cardinal football The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The program was previously in the Pac-12 Conference. The team is known as ...

is known for its 3–4 defense schemes, more typically seen in the NFL. Gardner was a three-year starter at

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the Stanford 3–4 system, which was ranked among the nation's top defensive units. Gardner did not see field action in his first year (2009). As a sophomore or "redshirt freshman" in 2010, Gardner saw action in 11 games on special teams and as a second-string defensive end. He logged three tackles, including two tackles for loss and one sack. In 2011, he started 12 of 13 games, including the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

vs. 13th nationally ranked Oklahoma state. Gardner recorded 35 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He was named to the All-Pac-12 Conference 2nd Team, and received Stanford's Deswarte-Eller Award honoring the most outstanding (redshirt) sophomore. Gardner ranked 13th in the Pac-12 in tackles for loss per game, and 16th in sacks per game. He had a season-high five tackles and one sack vs. California and a season-high 2.5 tackles for loss vs. Arizona. Gardner started all 14 games of the 2012 season, including the

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vs.

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and the

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vs.

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Gardner tied for second on the Stanford team with 14.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He also ranked among the nation's top 75 in both categories. Against #2-ranked

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, Gardner won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors for registering 6 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack, holding USC to 26 rushing yards. Playing at #7-ranked Notre Dame, Gardner made two solo tackles, one fumble recovery, and one sack which caused a fumble that was recovered for a Stanford touchdown. Gardner's season also included 49 tackles, 5 passes broken up, and 2 quarterback hurries. He chose to return to Stanford for a fifth year in 2013, rather than enter the

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, but it ended early because of a torn pectoral muscle he suffered against

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Gardner was selected in the seventh round (231 overall) of the

by the

. On August 26, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

after having surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left shoulder. The next year, the team brought in new talent at the

position (

Greg Hardy Gregory McKarl Hardy (born July 28, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist, boxer, and former football defensive end. He played football for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Carolina Panthers. Hardy play ...

Randy Gregory Randy Gregory (born November 23, 1992) is an American professional football linebacker. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. Early life Grego ...

, Ryan Russell) and he was eventually waived on September 5,

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San Diego Chargers

On November 4,

, Gardner was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

and switched to play

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

in a 3-4 defense. On September 3,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, he was cut by the Chargers. The next day, he was signed to the Chargers' practice squad. He was released on October 4.

References

External links

Stanford Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Ben 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Portland, Oregon American football defensive ends Stanford Cardinal football players Dallas Cowboys players San Diego Chargers players