Fred Bennett attended Manning High School in Manning, South Carolina where he played cornerback on the football team. He was considered to be one of the top 5 prospects in the state of South Carolina and was selected to play in the 2001 Shrine Bowl. Bennett was recruited by North Carolina and Clemson but he opted to sign with South Carolina instead. He spent a semester at Hargrove Military Academy before actually going to South Carolina. He saw action in all 12 games as a true freshman, primarily as a reserve defensive back and special teams player. He finished the season with 8 tackles. He earned a starting job as a sophomore, starting all 11 games at cornerback. He finished the season with 32 tackles, 3 pass break-ups and 4 interceptions. He had offseason surgery on his shoulder which caused him to miss the majority of spring practices in 2005. As a junior, Bennett recorded 31 tackles, 10 pass break-ups and 3 interceptions. He also had a sack and blocked a field goal. He was named honorable mention all-SEC for his play as a junior. Bennett was named the team’s most outstanding defensive back at the conclusion of spring practices in 2006.

Fred Bennett has a good deal of experience, having started the past three seasons at cornerback for South Carolina in the SEC. He has a very good combination of size and speed for a corner. He is a tall, physical corner with the size to cover bigger receivers and the speed to stay with most speed receivers as well. He is rarely beaten deep and has good closing/recovery speed. Bennett has good ball skills and reliable hands. He is a good hitter and a solid tackler, but he needs to be more aggressive in run support to become a more complete corner. He is still a bit raw in coverage and lacks fluid hips. He could be a candidate to switch to free safety at the next level. He had offseason surgery on his shoulder following his junior season. He seems to have made a full recovery but this is still something that will be checked out at the combine. Fred Bennett is a talented defensive back with a great deal of physical tools and a lot of upside. He could stay at corner in the NFL or make the switch to free safety. He probably won’t be selected as high as his former teammates ( Dunta Robinson, Johnathan Joseph, Ko Simpson), but he could be selected late on the first day or early on the second day of the 2007 NFL draft.