Lou Benfatti

{{Short description|American football player (born 1971)}}

{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Louis Benfatti

| number = 78

| position = Defensive tackle

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|3|9}}

| birth_place = Green Pond, New Jersey, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 4

| weight_lb = 278

| high_school = Rockaway (NJ) Morris Knolls

| college = Penn State

| draftyear = 1994

| draftround = 3

| draftpick = 94

| pastteams =

• New York Jets ({{NFL Year|1994|1996}})

| highlights =

• First-team All-American (1993)
• Second-team All-Big Ten (1993)

| statlabel1 = Tackles

| statvalue1 = 21

| pfr = BenfLo20

}}

Lewis Vincent Benfatti (born March 9, 1971) is an American former professional football player. The 6' 4", 278 lb., defensive tackle was the third round pick (#94 overall) of the New York Jets in the 1994 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1994 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1994/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He played three seasons (1994–1996) with the Jets. Benfatti was named All-American and a Lombardi Award finalist while at Penn State University. A team captain for the Nittany Lions, he played in the 1994 East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl games.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication from Penn State in 1993. Benfatti was an All-State football player and heavyweight wrestler at Morris Knolls High School in Denville Township, New Jersey.Lange, Randy. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_docid=0EAF928F8C4EF40A&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=NaN&p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated4&p_nbid=I53N59FQMTE4NTg0NzQ0OS4yODY4NjU6MTo3OnJhLTE4ODg "CRUSHING HALT TO JETS CAREER: BROKEN NECK KOS BENFATTI"], The Record (Bergen County), April 8, 1997. Accessed August 2, 2007. "Benfatti hides his turmoil well behind a calm demeanor that has been his trademark at Morris Knolls High School, at Penn State, and as a third-round draft pick of the Jets in 1994."[http://www.mhrd.k12.nj.us/mk/mkathletics/athletes/benfatti/ Lou Benfatti] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070624054342/http://www.mhrd.k12.nj.us/mk/mkathletics/athletes/benfatti/ |date=2007-06-24 }}, Morris Knolls High School. Accessed August 2, 2007.

Benfatti is the principal of Hopatcong Middle School, in Hopatcong, New Jersey.{{cite news | url = http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20091201/COMMUNITIES/91130133/1005/NEWS01/Former-Jet-becomes-principal-of-Hopatcong-Middle-School | title = Former Jet becomes principal of Hopatcong Middle School | newspaper = Daily Record | first = Matt | last = Manochio | date = 2009-12-01}}