RIP: Ben Huff, Michigan Wolverine, 1975-2006

Sad news from MGoBlog -- Ben Huff, a member of Michigan's National Championship football team in 1997, died on Sunday. No cause is yet known.

Benjamin John Huff
'Ben'

Mr. Huff, 31, of Charlotte, NC, died suddenly at his home on May 7, 2006. He was born on February 21, 1975 in Charlotte
Ben started playing football at Quail Hollow in Junior High. He went on to excel in both Football and Track and Field at Providence High School. In football, he was a 3 year varsity letterman and 3 year starter on offense and defense, and was 1992 All Conference Southwestern 4A, playing both tight end and linebacker; and played in the 1993 North Carolina East/West All Star Game.

In Track and Field he was a 3 year varsity letterman in shot put and discus; he held school records in discus at 182' and in the shot put at 56'8", he was NC State Champion in discus, and received 4th place in shot put at the same meet. In 1993 he was NC State Champion in discus at 182', a state meet record which still stands, and was awarded 2nd place in shot put.

He is considered one of the All Time Top 25 North Carolina Track and Field performers, and was the 1993 Southwest Athlete of the Year.

Ben earned a scholarship in 1993 to the University of Michigan. After red shirting his first year, he played the next 4 years before an injury prior to his senior season sidelined him. He became the 'twelfth man' on the 1997 National Championship Big Ten team.

After graduation he played in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons, also in the CFL, XFL and most recently 4 seasons in the AFL for Dallas.

Survivors include his mother, Martha Currie, of Charlotte, and his father, Marty Huff, of Temperance, MI, sister, Lisa Huff Rainey and her children John and Kayla, of Charlotte; brother, Jason Huff and wife, Jennifer, and their children Peyton and Bo, of Mt. Pleasant, SC; grandmother, Josephine Meyers; Ben's fiance, Tabitha Christy Payne; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. He is also survived by his stepfather, Rod Currie, and stepmother, Bridget Huff.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 AM Thursday, May 11, 2006 at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Parkway, Charlotte, with the Reverend Carmen Malacari, Celebrant. Interment will be private. The family will receive friends from 6 until 9 PM Wednesday evening at the Pineville Chapel of McEwen Funeral Service, 10500 Park Rd., Charlotte.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Michigan Athletic Department, and can be mailed to 1000 So. State St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, attn: Jo Parker, c/o the Ben Huff Memorial Scholarship.
Arrangements by McEwen Funeral Service, Pineville Chapel.

(Obituary via The Charlotte Observer.)