Vanderbilt University's football program experienced another tragedy early Thursday morning when tailback signee Rajaan Bennett was shot to death by his mother's ex-boyfriend at the family home in Powder Springs, Ga.
Bennett was the highest-rated member in Vanderbilt's 2010 class after rushing 236 times for 1,857 yards and 28 touchdowns this past season at McEachern High School.
"Our whole football family is shocked and saddened by the death of Rajaan Bennett," Commodores coach Bobby Johnson said. "In the little bit of time that we got to know Rajaan, he just seemed like the ideal young man for Vanderbilt and for college football."
Powder Springs Lt. Matt Boyd said officers heard gunshots as they arrived at the home and found the body of the 18-year-old Bennett inside. Boyd said Clifton Steager, 39, of Milledgeville shot Bennett and then killed himself.
Taiwan Hunter, Bennett's uncle, was wounded and underwent surgery in Atlanta.
"Rajaan was the man of the house; there was no doubt about it," Johnson said. "They all looked up to him. You hate to see guys have that kind of role that early in their lives, but he handled it as good as anybody possibly could have."
Bennett was the only Rivals.com four-star prospect in Vanderbilt's class, and he was just the third four-star recruit the Commodores have signed since 2002. The first was defensive end Marcus Dixon in 2003, but Dixon soon was found guilty of statutory rape and aggravated child molestation after having sex with a 15-year-old classmate in a Pepperell High trailer.
Dixon was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but his conviction was overturned by Georgia's Supreme Court in May 2004. He wound up playing for Hampton University.
In December 2004, Vanderbilt tailback Kwane Doster was shot to death in his Tampa hometown. Doster became Vandy's first Southeastern Conference freshman of the year in '02, when he rushed for 798 yards.
"When you lose players, it's just extremely unusual, and it's hard to overcome," Johnson said. "You just question everything about what you're doing and how you're doing it and how the world is doing it and how people act. You just want to move the clock back a day and see if we can't get this done differently."
In March 1997, months before Woody Widenhofer's first season as Commodores coach, offensive lineman Kyle Gullahorn fell six floors to his death after punching through a dormitory window following an argument with his girlfriend.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.